Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the country will negotiate with U.S. President Donald Trump over his tariff plans once Canada is “shown respect” as a sovereign nation.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Trump has risked a major diplomatic crisis with the U.S.’s northern neighbor over his threats to impose significant import tariffs and his repeated suggestion that Canada could become the U.S.’s 51st state.
His tariff plans have resulted in a trade war between the two countries and deepening political and ideological divisions, raising concerns about the future relationship between the longtime allies.
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What to Know
Carney, who recently replaced Justin Trudeau as leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party, held a meeting with the Council on Canada-U.S. Relations on Thursday.
Carney’s office said the virtual meeting discussed Trump’s tariff plans, including those expected to hit Canada on April 2.
This new wave of reciprocal tariff hikes is set to come into effect on top of the increases Trump has already announced against Canada, Mexico, China and elsewhere.
In a Wednesday post on X, formerly Twitter, Carney said Canada was ready to engage with Trump regarding the “unjust tariffs” the U.S. president had proposed. He also appeared to again reject the idea that Canada could become the U.S.’s 51st state.
Speaking to Fox News‘ Laura Ingraham on Tuesday, Trump said Canada was one of the “nastiest” countries to deal with and repeated his suggestion that it could become the 51st state to avoid paying tariffs and stop receiving subsidies from the U.S.
When asked by Ingraham why he was acting “tougher” on Canada than some of the U.S.’s adversaries, Trump replied, “Only because it’s meant to be our 51st state.”
Earlier in March, Trump temporarily delayed his long-threatened 25 percent tariffs on many goods from Mexico and Canada until April 2. The one-month tariff exemption covers goods included in the USMCA free trade agreement, which Trump negotiated between the U.S., Canada and Mexico during his first term.
About 62 percent of imports from Canada still face the tariffs because they are not USMCA-compliant, a White House official previously told the Associated Press.
Economists fear that this new wave of tariffs may target most countries that trade with the U.S. Trump’s existing tariff threats have already led to widespread concerns about the potentially damaging effect on the U.S. economy.
In a Thursday post on Truth Social, Trump described April 2 as “Liberation Day” for the U.S.
On March 11, he threatened to increase his 25 percent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50 percent, although he halted the plan hours later.
The threat was in response to the 25 percent electricity surcharge the Ontario government said it would impose on Michigan, Minnesota and New York in retaliation for American tariffs on Canada.
Canada also announced last week that it would impose tariffs on $21 billion worth of American products entering the country in response to Trump’s original 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, which took effect on March 12.
Before he left office, Trudeau said Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods would remain in place even after Trump paused many of the tariffs against Canada.
What People Are Saying
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X: “My meeting with the Council on Canada-U.S. Relations was focused on keeping Canada’s economy strong in the face of unjust tariffs. We’re ready to engage with the U.S. on a comprehensive negotiation—when Canada is shown respect as a sovereign nation.”
U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham: “I deal with every country, indirectly or directly. One of the nastiest countries to deal with is Canada. … Trudeau—I call him Governor Trudeau—his people were nasty, and they weren’t telling the truth. They never told the truth.”
Adam Chapnick, a professor of defense studies at the Royal Military College of Canada, previously told Newsweek: “Canada and its allies must take the president’s threats seriously so as not to allow them to become normalized among his extraordinarily loyal base, but the likelihood of Washington putting serious resources into taking Canada over remains slim to none. I suspect that the president will continue to speak longingly of taking over Canada because it gets such a rise out of Canadians, and he enjoys the attention and the ability to exert power, even if only through unrealistic threats.”
Joseph Politano, an economic policy analyst at Apricitas Economics, told The Washington Post: “The last two months have already hurt American businesses and consumers, but the April 2 deadline seriously could make all of that look like a tempest in a teapot. We don’t know exactly what they’re going to do, but from what they’re saying, it sounds functionally like new tariffs on all U.S. imports.”
What Happens Next
Canadian and Mexican goods that meet USMCA criteria are expected be spared from Trump’s 25 percent tariffs until April 2.
The White House has not yet announced the full scale of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs set to come into force that day.