Carney calls Trump's fresh tariffs a 'miscalculation' after trade talks collapse
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Mark Carney called Trump's fresh tariffs a "miscalculation" designed to "hurt and divide us," saying Canada was being "attacked" by the US after trade talks broke down late Friday.
- Carney walked away from the deal rather than compromise Canadian sovereignty, telling Canadians "They asked too much and they offered too little," and rejecting claims Canada made last-minute demands.
- Canada will match US tariffs dollar-for-dollar from September 8, targeting American steel, dairy, appliances, and electronics; details of the counter-measures will be released in coming days.
- Donald Trump has imposed new 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian goods, stacked on top of existing US levies on Canadian steel, aluminum, automobiles, and lumber, and has yet to publicly respond.
- US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Fox News there are no plans to resume talks, adding that the US had been prepared to cut some tariffs as part of a deal Canada rejected.
- Carney said US terms were "unacceptable," singling out a provision that would curb Canada's ability to strike new trade deals with other countries — a sovereignty red line he refused to cross.
- The breakdown casts a shadow over the mandatory USMCA review; the pact underpins $1.6tn (£1.2tn) in annual trilateral trade, and the US has already declined to renew it in its current form after Canada and Mexico requested a 16-year extension.
Why it matters: The collapse rattles the $1.6tn USMCA framework that anchors North American trade, and the sovereignty clause Washington pushed — restricting Canada's right to sign deals with third countries — reveals the ask was closer to vassalage than partnership. With no resumption of talks planned and dollar-for-dollar retaliation locked in for September 8, a year of on-again, off-again negotiations just hardened into a trade war.
Ask SkimNews
