Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney offered a terse response to President Donald Trump’s promise to further hike tariffs on Canadian goods in response to a TV ad, saying that Ottawa is prepared to resume trade talks with the US at any time.
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“Canada stands ready to build on the progress that we had been making in our negotiations or discussions with our American counterparts,” Carney told reporters in Malaysia, where he is attending the Asean meeting.
As Carney was travelling to Asia, Trump announced an additional 10 per cent in tariffs on Canada in retaliation for a TV advertisement by the province of Ontario that is airing in the US. The ad features excerpts of former US President Ronald Reagan criticising tariffs.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford had said he would stop airing the ad after the weekend, but Trump wasn’t mollified. “Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10 per cent over and above what they are paying now,” Trump said on Saturday.
The US president also told reporters aboard Air Force One that he did not anticipate meeting with the Canadian leader while both were in Asia for a pair of global summits.
Carney emphasised that trade talks with the US are the “sole responsibility” of the federal government, and said such negotiations are “the best way forward.”
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