Trucks stop near the Peace Bridge at the U.S.-Canada border crossing in Buffalo in March. U.S. President Donald Trump says that his country holds all the cards in the negotiations with Ottawa.Yuki Iwamura/The Associated Press
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said that Canada is working hard to reach a trade deal with his country.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, however, said he’s willing to hold out for a good deal rather than rush the process. He spoke on Friday with reporters during a visit to Turkey before the President’s comments, saying Canada continues to “engage with the U.S. government.”
Mr. Trump said that the U.S. holds all the cards and that “Canada is working very hard to make a deal.”
Asked whether there is a chance of a deal before the midterm elections on Nov. 3, Mr. Carney said it’s up to Washington.
“They’re a little hard to predict,” he said.
The Prime Minister said he’s always willing to sit down and resume negotiations if the U.S. is willing to bargain in good faith.
He said Ottawa doesn’t care about “the timing” of a deal, adding even if it means it will take months “or longer than that, or another administration before a proper deal comes into place.”
Canada wants a deal that lowers protectionist U.S. tariffs and brings stability to the bilateral trade relations. Talks broke down in August, triggering new tariffs and retaliation on both sides of the border.
The trade conflict began last year when Mr. Trump started imposing tariffs and telling Canada it could avoid these levies by agreeing to become the “51st state.” After negotiations on a deal stalled in August, Mr. Trump escalated the conflict.
The U.S. began collecting 50-per-cent duties on roughly $28-billion of Canadian goods on Aug. 22, and Canada matched the tariffs dollar for dollar one day after Labour Day. These U.S. tariffs are on top of existing levies on Canadian steel, aluminum, autos and lumber.
The breakdown in talks has widened a rift between the long-time allies, which have cast blame on the other, spurred Mr. Carney to urge a further shift away from his country’s biggest trading partner and cast doubt on the viability of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
With a report from Reuters