MONTREAL: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday (Jul 21) he was looking at “all options” after US President Donald Trump made plans to impose new 50 per cent tariffs on many Canadian goods in 30 days.
Carney also said that he and Trump had agreed to “intensify discussions” in the coming weeks on a possible deal, but did not suggest he would travel to Washington for any talks.
“We will look at all options in terms of how we would respond if they do come into effect,” Carney told reporters after speaking to Trump.
The new tariffs would affect everything from Canadian wine to hockey sticks to cement, but would not apply to energy, potash and goods already impacted by sector-specific tariffs.
The duties however would hit products under the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement (USMCA), which also will be the subject of negotiations after Washington said on Jul 1 that it would not extend the accord in its current form.
“The first objective is to get a comprehensive agreement,” Carney said.
While Trump has slapped duties on US trading partners since returning to the presidency last year, the orders often exempted goods entering his country under the USMCA.
Canada’s conservative opposition has criticised Carney’s government for sealing new trade deals, calling instead for the country to move ahead with “unblocking” its resources to counter Trumps trade moves.