Carney says he and Trump have agreed to ‘intensify’ trade talks | Business and Financial Issues

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he and United States President Donald Trump agreed to boost trade talks, but warned he would consider all options if Trump’s tariff threat on Monday goes ahead.

Carney made his remarks to reporters Tuesday after he and Trump spoke.

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Trump on Monday unveiled his plans 50 percent tariffs on many products from Canada in retaliation for what he described as discrimination against US-made cars, beer and dairy products.

Relations between Canada and its biggest trading partner have been tested by Trump’s repeated jibes at Canada 51 governmentdisagreements over the new bridge and sharp comments about the smoke.

Taxes came early US-Mexico trade negotiators met with the third round of bilateral negotiations, without Canada.

“I’ve spoken with the president, we’ve agreed to continue negotiations. We’ll start immediately, and this is part of the negotiations. So the first goal is to get a comprehensive agreement,” Carney told reporters.

Trump, when asked if Canada’s tariffs were in response to the wildfires, said: “No, it’s different. We’re looking at it individually.”

Carney said Canadian provinces should simply ban US alcohol as part of the US trade deal. Almost every Canadian province except Alberta and Saskatchewan has banned or severely restricted the sale of American beer, wine and spirits based on previous US prices.

Until then, Canada was the largest exporter of alcohol to the US, at least by volume, and the ban reduced Canadian imports of US wine by more than 80 percent from February 2025, and other alcohol by the same amount, Rachel Ziemba, adjunct director of the Center for a New American Security, said in a letter.

Canadian leaders who are meeting this week in Prince Edward Island fired the new prices.

Ontario Premier Doug Fordthe leader of Canada’s most populous province, said that Canada should respond “dollar for dollar” to the new tariffs, while the Premier of Alberta Danielle Smith said that the new tariffs will hurt both Canadian and American workers.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe called on the government to increase dialogue with the US, saying the relationship with Canada’s biggest trading partner “is more important than any president or minister.”

British Prime Minister David Eby delivered a stark message: “There’s not a chance in hell that US beer will ever be back on the shelves in British Columbia.”

Saskatchewan Premier Moe said he hopes the government will ask provincial leaders to reconsider stocking their shelves with US beer as negotiations continue.

‘Canadians are not a punching bag’

Even the opposition Conservatives called it The Prime Minister to stand up against Trump.

“President Trump’s latest tariffs are yet another unacceptable and unjustified attack on Canadian workers and our businesses,” the party said. “Canadians are not a punching bag,” it said, adding that the tariffs should be removed immediately.

In imposing tariffs on items ranging from wine to cement and ice hockey equipment, Trump invoked Section 338 of the US Tariff Act of 1930, which allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 50 percent on trading partners deemed to discriminate against US goods. This was the first use of the law in nearly a century.

The new tariffs, which will take effect in 30 days, will also apply to dairy products, swimming pools, furniture, fishing rods, seeds, clothing and wigs, among others.

The US Trade Representative’s office said the tariffs would affect about $20bn worth of Canadian goods. This is about 5.2 percent of the $382bn worth of goods that the US will export from Canada in 2025, according to the US Census Bureau.

Vermont’s US Senator Peter Welch, a member of the US Senate’s Senate Committee, said the new prices are “a major escalation of President Trump’s careless and careless war”. Welch said the attack on Canada’s White House posed an “undeniable threat” to Vermont and called on the US to stop the new threats immediately.

Candace Laing, president and CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said the group has shared its concerns with the Canadian government and is concerned that more tariffs are coming.

“We knew this was going to be tough before we went down,” he said.

The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to touch a one-week low of 1.4090 per US dollar, or 70.97 US cents.