The United States does not plan to resume trade negotiations with Canada for now, following the failure of talks and the entry into force this Saturday of new tariffs of 50% on about US$20 billion in Canadian imports.
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This was stated by the U.S. trade representative, Jamieson Greer, who also blamed Ottawa for the breakdown of the dialogue.
“There are no new talks planned with the Canadians,” Greer said in an interview with Fox News.
The statements come on the same day that Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced that his government will respond “dollar for dollar” to the new U.S. levies. The retaliations will begin to be applied next September 8.
According to Ottawa, the measures will focus on sectors such as steel, dairy products, appliances, agricultural machinery, pulp, paper, and electronics.
Greer defended the decision of the Donald Trump administration and argued that the new levies respond to trade measures previously adopted by Canada.
“While President Trump has launched a trade policy aimed at bringing production back to the United States and protecting American jobs, two countries have retaliated against the United States: the People’s Republic of China and Canada,” he said.
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The trade representative added that, after a year of retaliations, Washington decided to adopt “countermeasures.”
He also stated that the United States had offered “the Canadians to join this path, specifically, to reduce the tariffs applied to steel, automobiles, and even lumber, products that are sensitive to them. They have always had the best conditions and would have continued to enjoy even better treatment, but they did not want to accept it.”
Greer had already blamed Canada on Friday for the failure of the negotiations, stating that Ottawa refused to close the deal on the terms that, according to Washington, had been agreed upon earlier in the week.
The decision also generated criticism within the United States. California Governor, Gavin Newsom, publicly questioned the new tariffs.
“Our closest ally. Our key trading partner. And Trump is imposing 50% tariffs on Canada. What the hell are we doing?” he wrote on X.
Trump, meanwhile, has justified the new round of levies as a response to what he calls “continued discrimination” and “unequal treatment” towards U.S. trade by Canada.
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