Carney says trade negotiations with US will intensify in wake of new tariffs

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday signaled trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S. will heat up after President Trump imposed new tariffs on the nation.

“I spoke with President Trump earlier this morning,” Carney told reporters at a news conference. “We agreed to intensify negotiations in the coming weeks, and the team and myself look forward to doing that.” 

“As always, Canadians, governments, business, labor, will stand together to build Canada strong and to have a trading relationship with our North American partners that benefits everyone,” he added.

Trump slapped an additional 50 percent tariff on some goods imported from Canada earlier this week, citing “discriminatory” trade measures from the U.S.’s northern neighbor. During a press call on Monday, a senior official told reporters the fresh levies will impact everything from “wine to hockey sticks to cement.”

The new import taxes, imposed under the Tariff Act of 1930, are set to go into effect 30 days after being signed, per an administration official.

“Over the past year, Canada has retained substantial retaliation against the United States as the U.S. imposes trade actions to reindustrialize, reshore, and support its manufacturing,” the senior administration official said. “Specifically, Canada has to be held accountable for this continued discrimination.”

Carney days earlier criticized the additional levies, calling Trump’s move a violation of the trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada known as the USMCA. The president also floated additional tariffs on the country after wildfires caused air quality issues throughout the Midwest and Northeast.

Republicans on Capitol Hill have also questioned the levies.

Trade relations between the two nations have been tense since Trump returned to office in January 2025. Canada was one of the first countries to be impacted by the president’s sweeping tariff agenda — though the goods covered under the USMCA were mostly exempt.

The Supreme Court also handed the administration a blow earlier this year when it struck down the bulk of the president’s emergency tariffs.

Outside of the import taxes, Trump has also threatened to take over Canada and make it the “51st state.” Leaders in the nation and its people, however, have pushed back on that idea.

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