Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country was ready to resume trade talks with the United States “as soon as the U.S. side is ready.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country was ready to resume trade talks with the United States “as soon as the U.S. side is ready.”
His comments came after US President Donald Trump announced an immediate end to trade negotiations with Canada over an ad criticizing the tariffs imposed on the country, the BBC reported.
The ad, sponsored by the Canadian province of Ontario, quotes former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, a Republican and symbol of U.S. conservatism, as saying that tariffs “hurt all Americans.”
President Trump wrote on social media that the ad was “fake” and “terrible,” adding that trade negotiations were “broken down here.”
The Trump administration has imposed 35% tariffs on many Canadian imports, as well as individual tariffs targeting specific industries such as automobiles and steel manufacturing. Ontario has been particularly hard hit.
President Trump granted exemptions for goods covered by free trade agreements with Mexico and Canada that he negotiated during his first term.
But Canada’s Mr Carney has been trying to strike a deal to ease tariffs since his election earlier this year. Three-quarters of Canada’s exports are sold to the United States, making the country’s economy particularly vulnerable.
The effort is complicated by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has been the most vocal critic of taxes on U.S. companies that buy Canadian products.