Canada ready for a trade deal with US that benefits both, Carney says

Carney says Canada is ready for a deal that benefits both Canadian and US businesses and workers.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's comments come after trade negotiations between the US and Canada collapsed last month [File: AFP]

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government is ready to sign a trade deal with the United States that benefits both countries, adding that any agreement would need to have stability and credibility.

“The deal that’s possible, that’s in the interests of Canadian workers, families and businesses, is also the deal that is in the interests of American families, American businesses, American consumers, and … we’re ready to sit down and strike that deal when the Americans are ready,” Carney told reporters on Thursday in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

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Carney’s comments come after trade negotiations between the US and Canada collapsed last month when talks were down to the wire. Since then, the US has imposed 50 percent tariffs on $20bn worth of Canadian goods, and Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs on a similar amount will come into effect next week. The US has also threatened 50 percent tariffs on all Canadian cars and car parts from January 1.

Carney dismissed recent comments by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that Canada walked away from a trade deal because of domestic politics, saying in response to a question, “I don’t think, with all respect, appointed, unelected cabinet members in the United States are experts on Canadian politics.”

Carney suggested there had been a recent softening in the US approach to any trade deal that could spur further discussions.

“There were a few issues that the United States was arguing right up to the last hour,” he said, describing it as an “our way or the highway” attitude before talks broke down last month. “Now, they’re not,” he said. “So all of a sudden, they don’t care about Canadian language or culture and those elements. Well, if they didn’t care, they shouldn’t have kept them in the deal,” Carney said. “It’s good. We welcome that.”

Shortly after Carney spoke, US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that it was “very good for Canadian Politicians like Prime Minister Mark Carney to make President Donald J. Trump ‘the enemy.'” He warned the country’s economy would then collapse and be “Worse than anything that has ever happened to a Canadian politician”.

The US is Canada’s largest trading partner, and nearly 80 percent of its exports went there historically. But since Trump unleashed a wave of tariffs on the country last year, Ottawa has been working on reducing that dependence.

The US accounted for 66.35 percent of Canada’s total exports in July, down from 69.39 percent in June and 72.64 percent a year ago, according to data from Statistics Canada on Thursday.

However, Canada’s import dependence on the US has only narrowed to 59 percent in the last 12 months compared with 62 percent in 2024, the data showed.

On Thursday, Carney also announced plans to spend 4.7 billion Canadian dollars ($3.4bn) to build and maintain more than 300 Via Rail passenger rail cars in Canada, using facilities in Quebec and Thunder Bay, a shift away from importing them from the US.

卡尼表示，加拿大已准备好达成一项对加拿大和美国企业及工人都有利的协议。

加拿大总理马克·卡尼发表上述言论之前，美加贸易谈判已于上月破裂。[图片：法新社]

加拿大总理马克·卡尼表示，他的政府准备与美国签署一项对两国都有利的贸易协议，并补充说，任何协议都需要具备稳定性和可信度。

卡尼周四在安大略省桑德贝告诉记者：“有可能达成的协议，既符合加拿大工人、家庭和企业的利益，也符合美国家庭、美国企业和美国消费者的利益……我们随时准备坐下来，在美国人准备好的时候达成这项协议。”

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休·杰克曼有意加盟诺维奇城，死侍与金刚狼的德比大战或将上演（共4场）。

卡尼发表上述言论之前，美加贸易谈判上月破裂，当时谈判已进入最后阶段。此后，美国对价值200亿美元的加拿大商品加征了50%的关税，渥太华方面对同等金额商品的报复性关税将于下周生效。美国还威胁称，将从1月1日起对所有加拿大汽车及零部件加征50%的关税。

卡尼驳斥了美国商务部长霍华德·卢特尼克和财政部长斯科特·贝森特最近关于加拿大因国内政治而退出贸易协议的言论，他在回答一个问题时说：“恕我直言，我认为美国任命的、未经选举的内阁成员并不是加拿大政治的专家。”

卡尼暗示，美国最近在对待任何贸易协议的态度上有所软化，这可能会促使双方进行进一步的磋商。

“美国直到最后一刻还在就一些问题据理力争，”他说道，并形容上个月谈判破裂前，美国的态度是“要么听我的，要么滚蛋”。“现在，他们的态度变了，”他说道。“所以突然之间，他们不再关心加拿大的语言、文化以及其他这些方面了。好吧，如果他们真的不在乎，就不应该把这些因素纳入协议，”卡尼说道。“这很好。我们对此表示欢迎。”

卡尼讲话后不久，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在Truth Social网站上发帖称，“像加拿大总理马克·卡尼这样的加拿大政客把唐纳德·J·特朗普总统视为‘敌人’，这对他们来说非常好。”他警告说，加拿大经济将会因此崩溃，而且“比加拿大政客以往遭遇的任何情况都要糟糕”。

美国是加拿大最大的贸易伙伴，历史上加拿大近80%的出口都销往美国。但自从特朗普去年对美国加征关税以来，渥太华一直在努力降低对美国的依赖。

根据加拿大统计局周四公布的数据，7月份美国占加拿大出口总额的66.35%，低于6月份的69.39%和去年同期的72.64%。

然而，数据显示，过去 12 个月里，加拿大对美国的进口依赖度仅缩小至 59%，而到 2024 年这一比例将达到 62%。

周四，卡尼还宣布计划斥资 47 亿加元（34 亿美元）在加拿大建造和维护 300 多辆 Via Rail 客运列车，利用魁北克和桑德贝的设施，从而摆脱从美国进口列车的局面。