Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday said the era of deep ties with the US “is over,” as relations between the two North American countries plummet amid escalating trade tensions.
Speaking at a news conference in Ottawa following a Cabinet meeting addressing US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 25 percent tariff on auto imports, Carney warned Canadians that Trump had permanently altered relations and that, regardless of any future trade deals, there would be “no turning back.”
“The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over,” he said.
Photo: AP
The Canadian prime minister called Trump’s car tariffs “unjustified,” and said they were in breach of existing trade deals between the countries.
Carney said he would speak to provincial premiers and business leaders to discuss a coordinated response, with retaliatory measures expected next week.
“Our response to these latest tariffs is to fight, is to protect, is to build,” Carney said.
“We will fight the US tariffs with retaliatory trade actions of our own that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impacts here in Canada,” he said.
Trump on Wednesday announced that he would impose a 25 percent tariff on cars and car parts shipped to the US from Thursday next week — a move experts said would likely depress production, drive up prices and fuel a global trade war.
Carney, who has not spoken with Trump since becoming Canada’s new leader nearly two weeks ago, said he would speak with Trump in the coming days after the US president on Wednesday night reached out to schedule a call.
“We will be speaking soon, certainly in the course of the next day or two,” Carney said, adding that Trump has to respect Canada’s sovereignty.
“That’s not much to ask, but apparently it’s a lot for him,” he said.
“It is clear that the United States is no longer a reliable partner. It is possible that, with comprehensive negotiations, we will be able to restore some trust, but there will be no turning back,” Carney said.
“We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States. We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere,” he said.
The former central banker was sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister on March 14. It is unusual for a US president and Canadian prime minister to go so long without talking after a new leader takes office.
Carney, who replaced former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau as Canada’s leader and the head of the Liberal Party, is at the start of a five-week campaign after calling an early election for April 28.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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