Aug 24 (BBC/GNA) – US President Donald Trump has said Canada wants “the benefits of being a state, without being one” after trade talks between the two countries collapsed late on Friday.
The breakdown of negotiations triggered new 50% US tariffs on a range of Canadian goods. Trump also said American farmers had been charged “massive amounts of Tariffs” for years.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the fresh tariffs a “miscalculation” designed to “hurt and divide us”.
Carney confirmed he would match Trump’s tariffs “dollar-for-dollar” from 8 September, including levies on steel, dairy, appliances and electronics, saying the US and Canada were now in a trade war.
Both countries were optimistic of a deal earlier in the week, but talks fell apart after both sides accused the other of making last-minute changes.
“They asked too much and they offered too little,” Carney said on Saturday. “You’re at war when you get attacked. We got attacked.”
Trump’s latest comments echo his repeated references to making Canada the “51st state” of America since returning to office, sparking frustration among its leaders and residents.
The collapse of the trade talks upended a deeply integrated trading relationship with no clear path to resolution.
“We cannot accept what they’ve offered and we will not give what they’ve asked,” Carney said.
Trump told Fox News on Sunday that the Canadians were “foolish” to engage in a trade war with the US and think they will “actually win”.
The new 50% US tariffs will apply to a range of Canadian goods, in addition to existing US tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminium, automobiles and lumber.
They are limited in scope, covering about $20bn (£15bn; C$28bn) of imports from Canada, or about 5% in total, including wine, dairy, cement, clothing and hockey equipment.
The prime minister said Canada was retaliating “reluctantly” to protect its interests, with details of counter-measures to be released in the coming days.
GNA/Credit: BBC