By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – Canada on Saturday has suspended trade negotiations with the US and promised a dollar-for-dollar response after fresh 50% US tariffs took effect on Canadian goods worth roughly C$28 billion, pushing weeks of negotiations into a fresh trade confrontation.
Washington said its abandoned offer included tariff relief for steel, aluminium, autos and lumber, alongside cooperation on critical minerals and supply chains.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney ordered his country’s negotiating team back to Ottawa after rejecting last-minute changes sought by Washington.
He described the revised US terms as “unfair, uneconomic” and said they raised doubts about whether any agreement could be relied upon.
Washington gave a sharply different account of the breakdown.
US Trade Representative accused Canada of retreating from previous commitments and introducing new demands despite an American offer that included tariff relief for steel, aluminium, autos, and lumber.
Carney said his government had entered the negotiations knowing that Canada’s economic relationship with its largest neighbour had fundamentally changed.
“We have recognised from the beginning that America has changed, and that we will not return to our old relationship. Our government understood, before many, that America is altering all its trade relationships. Putting tariffs on its closest allies and charging for access to its vast market,” he said.
He said Ottawa had sought better access to the US market and greater certainty for Canadian workers and businesses, but had never treated an agreement itself as the overriding objective.
“Throughout, our goal has been to secure the best deal for Canadians, never a deal at any price or on any deadline,” Carney said.
He acknowledged that the two sides had made substantial headway in recent weeks. The remaining terms, however, did not meet Canada’s objectives.
“As a result, this evening, I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the U.S. and have directed Canada’s negotiators to return to Ottawa,” he said.
Carney said the Canadian team had continued negotiations “up until the very last minute”, but blamed changes to the American offer for ending the process.
“However, last-minute changes in the US proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal,” he said.
With the 50 per cent US duties taking effect, Carney said Canada would impose equivalent measures.
Canada would “match those tariffs dollar for dollar” to protect Canadian workers and businesses, he said.
Ottawa is also preparing further measures for affected businesses and workers. Carney said these would build on nearly $25 billion in support provided during the past 18 months.
Carney used the breakdown to renew his government’s case for reducing Canada’s dependence on the US market.
He said nearly $500 billion in major infrastructure projects were being advanced while the government pursued additional markets for Canadian exporters.
Canada’s existing free-trade agreements provide preferential access to 1.5 billion consumers, he said, and Ottawa expects that market access to double by the end of the year.
Carney also claimed Canada’s economy was accelerating and was on track to post the second-fastest growth among G7 countries over the next two years.
“Our economy is creating jobs at four times the rate of the United States. Our exports to non-U.S. markets are on track to double over the next decade. Foreign direct investment in Canada is at its highest level in two decades, running at twice the rate of our nearest G7 competitor,” he said.
“Canada has what the world wants. And we will not allow any nation to determine our future. We will set our own course to keep building Canada strong for all,” he added.
The US Trade Representative blamed Ottawa for the collapse, describing the outcome as a “missed opportunity for Canada”.
Washington said Canada had been offered better treatment than other major exporters but upset the balance of the proposed agreement by making additional demands and reversing earlier commitments.
“Despite the US offer to Canada to receive the best treatment of any major exporter to our market, new demands and walkbacks of other commitments by Canada have upended the careful balance reached in the past days,” the US Trade Representative said in a post on X.
It also criticized what it called Canada’s “prolonged retaliation” against American goods and services.
Washington said its offer included substantial tariff reductions covering steel, aluminium, automobiles, and lumber.
The proposed agreement also covered cooperation on export controls, transshipment, digital trade, and external tariffs, according to the US side.
Other elements included aerospace supply-chain coordination, cooperation on critical minerals, enforcement against imports produced with forced labour, and the announcement of formal US-Mexico-Canada Agreement negotiations.
The confrontation came as Canada seeks to expand trade outside the United States amid the Trump administration’s tariff measures.
The figures cited in a report by Canada’s Office of the Chief Economist showed Canadian exports to the US fell 3.7 per cent last year.
Exports to markets outside the US, by contrast, increased 11.1 per cent. Those destinations now account for 32.8 per cent of Canada’s exports their highest share in 4 decades.
