Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has rejected the latest US trade offer after last-ditch trade talks between the two countries collapsed, warning that Ottawa will retaliate with new tariffs targeting sectors including steel and dairy. Carney said the measures would come into effect on September 8.“We cannot accept what the US has offered and we will not give what they’ve asked,” Carney said.Carney said Canada had been prepared to remove its remaining retaliatory tariffs on strategic US sectors, particularly steel, aluminium and automobiles, as part of a broader agreement. However, he said Ottawa was not willing to compromise industries it considers vital to the Canadian economy.The breakdown came after the United States imposed 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian products early Saturday. The measures affect roughly 5% of Canada’s annual exports to the US and include a range of goods.Canada has responded by preparing matching tariffs. “Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses,” Carney said.He said details of the new measures would be released in the coming days, with the retaliation expected to be concentrated on sectors such as steel and dairy.The US and Canada had been working towards a compromise after Washington extended the deadline for the tariffs to allow negotiations to continue. But the talks broke down after what Carney described as last-minute changes to the US proposal.“Last-minute changes in the US proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal,” he said, adding that he had suspended negotiations and ordered Canada’s negotiating team to return to Ottawa.US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, however, blamed Canada for the collapse, saying Ottawa had declined to finalise a deal despite being offered favourable treatment.Carney said Canada’s objective had never been to secure “a deal at any price or on any deadline”. He also said Ottawa did not believe Washington wanted Canada to halt any of its energy supplies.The latest escalation threatens to further strain relations between the two long-standing allies and could complicate efforts to renew the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Carney has warned that Canada has recognised that “America has changed” and that the two countries will not simply return to their previous relationship.
