US President Donald Trump has accused Canada of seeking “the benefits of being a State, without being one” after trade negotiations between the two countries collapsed, triggering a fresh round of tariffs.
Trump’s comments came after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Ottawa would respond to new US tariffs with matching measures. Carney described the US duties as a “miscalculation” designed to “hurt and divide” Canada.
The new US tariffs of 50 percent cover about $20 billion of Canadian imports, including wine, dairy products, cement, clothing and hockey equipment. They come on top of existing US duties on Canadian steel, aluminium, automobiles and lumber.
Carney said Canada would match the tariffs dollar for dollar from September 8, with counter-measures expected to target products including steel, dairy, appliances and electronics.
“They asked too much and they offered too little,” Carney said in a speech on Saturday. “You’re at war when you get attacked. We got attacked.”
The Canadian leader said Ottawa had reluctantly chosen retaliation to defend its workers and businesses. He accused Washington of introducing unacceptable conditions during the final stages of negotiations, including restrictions on Canada’s ability to establish trade agreements with other countries.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer offered a different account, saying Canada had made new demands and reversed commitments that had already been agreed. He said the United States had been prepared to reduce some tariffs as part of a proposed agreement.
Greer also told Fox News that there were currently no plans to resume negotiations.
Trump has repeatedly suggested since returning to the White House that Canada should become the 51st US state. His latest remarks have added to frustration among Canadian political leaders.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford backed Carney and said Trump could not be trusted. British Columbia Premier David Eby said US demands regarding Canada’s trade relationships would effectively reduce the country to the economic equivalent of a US state.
Canada’s Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre also criticised the new tariffs, calling them unjustified. Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette warned that Canadian jobs could be affected, while Alberta Premier Danielle Smith urged both countries to return to negotiations.
The dispute follows more than a year of intermittent trade talks that intensified after Washington threatened further tariffs if an agreement was not reached.
The breakdown also complicates the future of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the North American trade pact signed during Trump’s first presidency. The agreement supports about $1.6 trillion in annual trade among the three countries.
Canada and Mexico had requested a 16-year renewal of the agreement, but the United States declined to renew it in its existing form.
Carney said the collapse of the latest negotiations was “certainly not good news” for the future of North American trade.
