PM Mark Carney says ‘we got attacked’ as tariffs come into force on items from hockey sticks to tongue depressors
The lesson from Canada’s collapsed trade talks with the US: negotiation may be futile
Donald Trump has hit back at Canada after a breakdown in negotiations plunged the two countries into a trade war.
In his first public comments since negotiations collapsed on Friday in Washington, the US president wrote on social media: “Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!!”
“They have also charged our great farmers, for many years, massive amounts of tariffs,” he added. “No more!!!”
His comments came after the US imposed 50% tariffs on $20bn (£14.6bn) worth of Canadian goods, while Mark Carney, the country’s prime minister, has vowed to match them “dollar for dollar”.
The US tariffs came into force on Saturday, ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors. Trade experts have predicted that the tariffs could result in some job losses, but the biggest impact is expected to be political, triggering fresh tension between the neighbours.
Both sides blamed the other for the breakdown in talks on Friday. Carney told Canadian journalists that the country was “at war” over trade with the US, after Trump “miscalculated” by escalating his tariff attack.
“You’re at war when you’re attacked, and we got attacked,” the Canadian prime minister told reporters in Ottawa. “We cannot accept what they’ve offered and we will not give what they’ve asked.”
Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, has said the US was compelled to act after a year of retaliatory measures by Canada. He told Fox & Friends Weekend: “We’ve said enough and so we’ve taken countermeasures. Our interest is in protecting American workers and protecting American supply chains.”
Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, estimated that 40% of small Canadian exporters will be directly hit by the US tariffs, and that nearly one-third expect their revenues will drop by 50% or more as a result.
The escalation was also met with anger by Democrat lawmakers and governors from US states that border Canada including Minnesota, New York and Washington.
New York governor Kathy Hochul posted on X: “Needlessly picking fights with our allies and raising prices here at home. That’s Trump’s economic policy in a nutshell.”
Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar, said the new tariffs meant “higher costs for small businesses, farmers, and all Minnesota families.”
She wrote on X: “Canada is Minnesota’s #1 trading partner. Minnesotans are paying for Trump’s chaos.”
