Mark Carney tells US to ‘start being serious’ amid escalating trade war — SkimNews
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- Mark Carney urged Washington to "start being serious" about trade talks, criticizing US officials for insulting Canada with memes and "throwing shade," and calling the conduct "beneath their office."
- Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs on $20bn of American goods on 8 September, after the US levied 50% tariffs on $20bn in Canadian goods.
- Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, told Politico "there are no negotiations happening on trade right now" and called the dispute "more their emergency than ours."
- Greer blamed the collapse on Canadian asks like lighter heavy-duty truck taxes, while Carney said US negotiators viewed the French language as an "irritant" — "In Quebec, these are rights" — and Canadian officials pointed to White House infighting over who was directing talks.
- Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as "Lake America," rejected by Canadians, and has argued Canada "wants the benefits" of being a US state without being one.
- Canada is the US's second-largest trading partner, and both sides' tariffs are set to pressure US consumers on day-to-day items.
Why it matters: With roughly $40 billion in two-way tariffs set to hit simultaneously and Canada being the US's second-largest trading partner, American consumers face immediate price pressure on goods, while Carney's public rebuke signals he has the political will to escalate rather than capitulate in the days before his government's retaliation takes effect.
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