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Canada’s Carney tells US to ‘start being serious’ to resolve trade dispute

From Al Jazeera · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said trade talks with the United States could resume once Washington adopts a more serious approach.
  • The latest US tariffs cover about $20 billion in Canadian goods, while Canada plans equivalent retaliatory tariffs from Sept. 8.
  • Carney rejected US demands that he said could restrict Canada’s trade policy and protections for French language and culture.

Canada’s prime minister has a message for Washington: stop the memes, stop the insults and start negotiating seriously.

When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough, and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions

— Mark CarneyThe Canadian prime minister’s condition for resuming substantive trade discussions with Washington.

Mark Carney reprimanded the United States on Tuesday for what he called a flippant approach to the trade dispute between the two countries. “When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough, and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa. “It’s not constructive, but that’s their democracy.”

His remarks came after negotiations collapsed on Aug. 22. The United States then imposed 50 percent tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Canada has pledged to impose tariffs on a similar value of US products starting Sept. 8.

It’s not constructive, but that’s their democracy

— Mark CarneyCarney’s response to the US approach he criticized as unserious.

Carney blamed the deadlock on last-minute US demands. He said the Trump administration sought to limit Canada’s ability to conclude trade agreements with other countries and requested changes to laws protecting French language and culture. He also accused Washington of pressing for an unequal agreement that would harm Canadian industries.

Canada’s a sovereign state. We will strike free trade deals with the countries we wish to strike free trade deals with

— Mark CarneyCarney’s rejection of limits on Canada’s trade relations with other countries.

“Canada’s a sovereign state. We will strike free trade deals with the countries we wish to strike free trade deals with,” Carney said. “Of course, we’re not going to accept those terms.” The dispute has fueled Canadian nationalism, with an Abacus Data poll showing national pride rising 12 points in two years to 77 percent this year. At the same time, the Trump administration has pressed Canada to become a US “51st state”, while Trump has ordered federal entities to call Lake Ontario “Lake America”.

Of course, we’re not going to accept those terms

— Mark CarneyHis response to US demands he said would harm Canadian interests.
About this summary

Originally published by Al Jazeera in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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