Ottawa (GNP): Trade talks between Canada and the United States collapsed just hours before a critical deadline on Friday, prompting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to suspend negotiations and announce retaliatory tariffs against Washington.
The breakdown came after months of intense back-and-forth between the two countries, and it marks a sharp turn from the cautious optimism both sides had expressed only days earlier.
Carney announced the decision Friday evening, saying his government had directed Canada’s negotiating team to return to Ottawa. He said last-minute changes to the terms proposed by Washington were unfair and uneconomic, adding that the shift called into question whether any agreement reached could actually be relied upon. According to Carney, Canada’s negotiators had worked in good faith throughout the process, defending the country’s interests right up until the final hours.
In a formal statement issued the following day, Carney laid out the objectives that had guided Canada’s approach over the past 18 months: preserving tariff-free access to the US market for most Canadian businesses, reducing tariffs on key strategic industries, protecting small and medium-sized enterprises, and maintaining the country’s sovereignty and independence throughout the process.
He said Canada had recognized early on that the trading relationship with the US had fundamentally changed and that a return to the old arrangement was never realistic.
At midnight, the US moved ahead with a 50 percent tariff on close to 28 billion dollars’ worth of Canadian goods, using authority granted under the Tariff Act of 1930. The list of affected products is broad, covering wine, dairy, cement, clothing, and even hockey equipment, and stacks on top of tariffs already in place on Canadian steel, aluminum, autos, and lumber.
Carney confirmed Canada would respond in kind, matching the new tariffs dollar for dollar to shield domestic workers and businesses from the fallout.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer pushed back against Canada’s characterization of events, stating that Canada had declined to finalize a deal that had already been agreed upon earlier in the week. He said new demands and reversals of prior commitments from the Canadian side had disrupted the balance both countries had worked to reach.
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford threw his support behind Carney’s response, calling for a firm, tariff-for-tariff approach. Meanwhile, Carney pointed to broader economic momentum as evidence that Canada could weather the disruption, citing nearly 500 billion dollars in infrastructure projects currently underway and efforts to diversify export markets beyond the United States.
He noted that Canada’s existing free trade agreements already grant preferential access to 1.5 billion consumers worldwide, with plans to double that reach by the end of the year.
Carney closed his remarks by emphasizing that Canada’s economy is expanding at a faster pace than most of its G7 peers, with job creation outpacing the United States and foreign direct investment reaching its highest level in two decades.
He said the country would not let any other nation dictate its future and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to strengthening Canada’s economic independence going forward.
Managing Editor at Global News Pakistan (GNP), with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Riphah International University, graduated with a Gold Medal. Reach out at sabahtareengnp@gmail.com
