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“They Wanted Dependence, Not an Economic Partnership”: Canada’s Prime Minister Speaks as US Tariffs Take Effect

From Clarín · () Spanish

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

At a glance

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  • Canada began applying tariffs ranging from 15% to 50% on US imports as the trade dispute between Ottawa and Washington intensified.
  • Prime Minister Mark Carney said the United States had sought dependence rather than a genuine economic partnership and defended the tariffs as necessary to protect Canadian workers.
  • Canada began consulting its provinces about stronger ties with the European Union and other trusted partners, despite an estimated economic impact of about $20 billion.

Canada has begun imposing tariffs of 15%, 25% and 50% on US imports, and Prime Minister Mark Carney says the measures mark a break with decades of economic dependence on Washington.

They wanted dependence, not a true economic partnership.

· Mark CarneyThe Canadian prime minister explained his government’s justification for imposing tariffs on US products.

“They wanted dependence, not a true economic partnership,” Carney said in a prerecorded video released on his official social media accounts and those of the Liberal Party. He said four decades of deeper integration had left Canada too reliant on the United States.

The tariffs vary by product and took effect as the trade conflict between the two countries entered a new phase. Carney acknowledged that the measures would cause short-term pain, but argued they would force Canada to move faster on investment, infrastructure and trade diversification. “Staying still would cost more,” he said.

Staying still would cost more.

· Mark CarneyHe argued that the short-term cost of the tariffs would be outweighed by the cost of remaining dependent on the United States.

Ottawa has begun consulting the provinces about building stronger ties with the European Union. Carney said Canada had spent the past year and a half redirecting its economy toward trusted partners, after what he described as an easy trading relationship that created excessive dependence on a single economic partner.

We cannot allow US goods to enter Canada tariff-free while they charge our companies to export there.

· Mark CarneyHe defended the tariffs as a response to US charges on Canadian exporters.

“We cannot allow US goods to enter Canada tariff-free while they charge our companies to export there,” Carney said. He maintained that Canada had not sought to escalate the confrontation, but that tariffs had become necessary to protect Canadian workers. Available projections put the economic impact of the Canadian policy at about $20 billion.

It was an easy business, but it meant we depended too much on a single economic partner.

· Mark CarneyHe described the longstanding Canada-US trading relationship.
About this summary

Originally published by Clarín in Spanish. 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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