Carney holds talks with Trump to avoid new tariffs on Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney held urgent talks with President Donald Trump in an effort to spare his country from new US tariffs scheduled to take effect at midnight Tuesday-Wednesday, Ottawa confirmed.

Last month, Trump signed orders imposing 50% tariffs, accusing Canada of “discriminatory treatment” against American products, particularly alcoholic beverages, cars, and dairy products.

The website Politico reported on Tuesday that an agreement to avoid the US measures was still awaiting Trump’s approval. A White House official told Agence France-Presse that any announcement of an agreement would come directly from the US president. He added, “Until that happens, any talk in this regard should be considered mere speculation without a basis.”

For his part, a spokesperson for the Canadian Prime Minister told AFP that Carney spoke with Trump on Monday afternoon to discuss trade negotiations.

The Oxford Economics Institute estimates that the anticipated tariffs would affect approximately 5.5% of Canadian exports to the United States, equivalent to about $20 billion, warning that Canada’s central manufacturing sector would be hit hardest.

Canadian negotiators in Washington continue their efforts to reach an agreement that would spare their country from the new tariffs, amid attempts to obtain exemptions from tariffs imposed on the automotive, steel, lumber, and aluminum sectors.

Canadian media reported that Ottawa had offered concessions, including pressuring provinces to return American alcoholic beverages to store shelves, but reaching an agreement remains uncertain.

Former US Department of Commerce official Christopher Padilla argued that the Trump administration is using the threat of tariffs to extract concessions from Canada during negotiations to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), while cautioning that political considerations could hinder any potential commercial understanding.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that the purpose of the tariffs was to “hold Canada accountable for its retaliatory measures against the United States.”

Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court struck down part of the global tariffs imposed by Trump, prompting him to rely on a different legal basis to impose the new tariffs on Canada.