If the government of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney fails to reach an acceptable trade deal with Donald Trump’s administration, he is prepared to wait for a new US president to conclude the agreement.
He said this in an interview with POLITICO in Montreal.
Carney also noted that Canadians are tired of diplomatic provocations from the United States, and described Trump’s wavering policy on the Russia-Ukraine war as “unconstructive”.
Carney’s remarks, made after the conclusion of a summit with representatives of the European Union, were his most direct rebuff to Washington in recent months from a leader who until now has chosen his words very carefully when speaking about the United States amid sensitive trade talks.
Trade negotiations between Washington and Ottawa have been moving extremely slowly since Canada withdrew from the negotiating process in August.
What is more, this autumn both sides introduced new tariffs. On Friday, Carney again stressed that he would not sign a deal “just for the sake of a deal”. Asked whether that meant he was prepared to wait for a new president if necessary, the prime minister answered in the affirmative.
“We will have to do that if circumstances require it,” Carney said.
The prime minister added that in such a situation, American families and American businesses would also suffer.
- At the summit in Montreal, Canada and the EU announced the creation of the “Alliance for the Future” — a grouping of like-minded countries intended to protect them from geopolitical instability and pressure from major powers. Canada and the EU plan to deepen their economic partnership. In particular, this includes integrating supply chains, co-ordinating economic security policy, co-operation in the defence industry, and increasing European investment in the extraction of critical raw materials in Canada.
- The sides also agreed to assess the possibilities for supplying Canadian liquefied natural gas to the European Union.
- A separate strand of the talks is the possibility of Canada obtaining the status of an associate member of the EU.