Carney says more movement on tariffs needed before CUSMA talks start
Prime minister thinks Trump beginning to get the hint about Canadian sovereignty
Prime Minister Mark Carney says more progress needs to be made on resolving the tariff issue with the United States before renegotiations of the North American trade deal begin.
In an exclusive interview with CBC's Power & Politics on Tuesday, Carney said "fairly intensive discussions" with the U.S. have been ongoing since he spoke with President Donald Trump in Washington earlier this month.
"I don't think it's in either of our nations' interests for it to drag out that long. I think the issues are getting a sharper relief," Carney told host David Cochrane.
"But we're going to take as much as time as necessary to get the right deal for Canada."
The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) trade deal is up for a review next year. But Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard told reporters earlier Tuesday that he expects those negotiations to start early — potentially this coming fall.
"The formal start is expected at the end of September, the first week of October, for evaluation," Ebrard told journalists on the sidelines of a banking event.
But Carney said he had a "slightly different view" of the timeline.
The U.S. has imposed several new tariffs on both Canada and Mexico since the start of Trump's second term. The U.S. has levies on all goods from both of those countries that aren't CUSMA compliant. Trump justified those tariffs as a way to push both Canada and Mexico to crack down on illegal drugs and migrants crossing their borders.
The U.S. has also hit Canada with tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos.
Canada has responded with counter-tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. consumer goods and some additional tariffs on U.S. autos.
Carney said more needs to be done to resolve the tariff issue before further trade talks can start.
"We want to make direct progress on those issues before we have the broader review of USMCA," Carney said, using the American name for CUSMA.
The prime minister argued that Canada has made "tremendous progress" on the border. He also argued that U.S.-imposed auto tariffs are hurting the American sector.
Trump has said that he wants more auto-manufacturing in the U.S., but Carney argued that the American auto industry wouldn't survive without Canada.
"Can the U.S. auto sector be viable and truly competitive versus Asian competition — particularly coming Chinese competition, but broader global competition — can it be viable if it's just an American auto sector? The answer is no," Carney said.
"We are stronger together in autos."
Carney says Trump starting to get hint about sovereignty
Carney's comments come the day King Charles presented the government's throne speech in Ottawa.
Inviting the monarch was meant to be a symbolic assertion of Canada's sovereignty in light of Trump's comments about making Canada the 51st state.
Carney said he thinks the president is starting to take the hint.
"I won't look into his soul. But I think the president is recognizing, as others are, just how strong and free Canada is," the prime minister said.
Although Trump hadn't publicly mentioned the idea of Canada being the 51st state since Carney's trip to Washington, the president again brought up the idea in a social media post later on Tuesday.
"I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State. They are considering the offer," Trump wrote in post Tuesday evening.
While the throne speech laid out the new Liberal government's agenda for the parliamentary session ahead, it also subtly addressed the Trump tariffs and the 51st state taunts.
"When my dear late mother addressed your predecessors seven decades ago, she said that in that age, and against the backdrop of international affairs, no nation could live unto itself," Charles said, referencing Queen Elizabeth's 1957 throne speech to Parliament.
"It is a source of great pride that, in the following decades, Canada has continued to set an example to the world in her conduct and values, as a force for good," he said. "As the anthem reminds us: The True North is indeed strong and free."
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With files from Reuters