Mark Carney, Canada, says Trump must stop commenting before bilateral negotiations begin
Trump promised a possible severe tariff on Canadian imports, often pondering the country’s 51st state.
“We’ve called up these comments. They don’t respect, they don’t help, they … have to stop and then we sit down and have a conversation about our broader partnership with the United States,” Carney told reporters in London.
Carney’s speech was the toughest since Trump started his political career in January. Carney, who was sworn in on Friday, has not spoken to Trump yet, and the U.S. president remains silent about his appointment.
Carney said Canada hopes to have a more comprehensive discussion and negotiation on the overall business and security relationship between the two neighbors.
“When the United States is ready to have a dialogue, we are ready to sit down,” he said. Canada retaliated against tariffs on US imports worth tens of thousands of dollars. Carney said Ottawa will only take action, believing it will affect our behavior. “So it will be very intentional and there is a limit, go all out. Given that our economy is one tenth of the United States, matching these tariffs is a limit.”
