On Monday, March 17th, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that Ottawa will respond to US tariffs very cautiously. Canada has imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of American imports as retaliation. “Therefore, this will be very cautious and have limits. Considering our economy is one-tenth the size of the US, there are restrictions on imposing these tariffs,” he said.
Carney mentioned that Ottawa will only take actions it deems might influence US behavior in response. He seems to leave more room for mediation than his predecessor Trudeau.
Currently on a visit to the UK, Carney told the media that US President Trump must stop making “disrespectful” remarks about Canada, otherwise, the two countries cannot engage in serious negotiations about their future relationship.
Trump has imposed high tariffs on imports from Canada and suggested making Canada the 51st state of the US.
“We have already condemned these comments. These remarks are disrespectful and unhelpful. Before we sit down to discuss a broader partnership with the US, we must cease these comments,” Carney said.
According to Reuters, these are the harshest comments Carney has made about Trump since he began his political career in January. Carney was sworn in last Friday but has not yet spoken with Trump.
Carney expressed that Canada hopes to have a more comprehensive discussion and negotiation on the overall commercial and security relationship between the two neighboring countries.
“When the US is ready to talk, we are very willing to sit down for negotiations,” he said.