Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has suspended trade negotiations with the United States, accusing Washington of making last-minute demands that were “unfair” and “uneconomic.”
Carney announced the decision shortly before Friday night’s deadline, directing Canadian negotiators to return to Ottawa. He also warned that Canada would impose reciprocal tariffs on US goods “dollar for dollar” if Washington proceeds with its threatened measures.
The two countries had been engaged in intensive negotiations since July after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 50 per cent tariff on nearly $20 billion (C$28 billion) worth of Canadian imports from 19 August.
Trump had temporarily paused the proposed tariffs earlier in the week, saying the US and Canada were close to reaching a trade agreement that would be beneficial to both countries.
However, Carney said the latest US proposals had undermined the negotiations, despite what he described as significant progress.
“Important progress” had been made, he said, but it was “not enough to meet our objectives for Canadians.”
“As a result, this evening, I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the US and have directed negotiators to return to Ottawa,” Carney said.
He added that the last-minute changes proposed by the US were unfair, economically damaging and raised questions about Washington’s reliability as a negotiating partner.
The US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, however, blamed Canada for the breakdown, saying Ottawa had declined to finalise an agreement based on terms reached earlier in the week.
Greer said new demands and changes to previous commitments by Canada had disrupted what he described as a carefully balanced agreement.
The collapse of the talks now raises fresh concerns over a possible escalation of trade tensions between the two North American neighbours, with Canadian reciprocal tariffs potentially triggering further measures from Washington.
