LILLEY: Carney admits there's likely no deal with Trump unless tariffs included
PM tells reporters there's little evidence that any country can reach deal without tariffs
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It’s not the elbows-up response he promised, it’s not the “hard approach” a new poll shows most Canadians want, but it is the reality. Prime Minister Mark Carney is acknowledging there is little chance of Canada getting a new trade deal with the United States that doesn’t include tariffs.
Heading into a cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, Carney was asked if a deal without tariffs was realistic.
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LILLEY: Carney admits there's likely no deal with Trump unless tariffs included Back to video
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“There’s not much evidence at the moment — from the deals, agreements and negotiations with the Americans for any country or any jurisdiction — to get a deal without tariffs,” the PM said.
It’s something that was evident as far back as February: That to get a new trade deal, we may end up as part of a global tariff policy where some goods and services face a standard tariff. Speaking with American politicians in Washington when premiers from across the country visited the U.S. capital, the issue of a 10% global tariff, even on Canada, was raised several times.
Carney and other Canadian officials have put forward the idea that due to Canada’s special relationship with the U.S. and our existing trade agreement, we should and could get a deal with no tariffs. U.S. President Donald Trump, though, has become increasingly pleased with his tariff policy and the results he’s seeing.
When Trump met with Carney at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., a month ago, Trump said straight up that he differed from Carney on how they view trade.
“I have a tariff concept. Mark has a different concept,” Trump said. “I’m a tariff person. I’ve always been a tariff person. It’s simple, it’s easy, it’s precise.”
At the same meeting, Trump said a deal between Canada and the U.S. could be reached within days if both countries agreed to one. There had been talk of a deal before the G7 meetings started, but that fell apart and since then Trump has only talked about more tariffs.
Carney’s comments may be his attempt to soften the Canadian public ahead of announcing a new deal that includes some level of tariffs.
“We need to recognize that the commercial landscape globally has changed. It’s changed in a fundamental manner,” Carney said. “We will continue to focus on what we can most control, which is building a strong Canadian economy.”
He also spoke about ensuring workers and businesses are supported.
“A strong Canadian economy, to be absolutely clear, includes a strong steel industry. It includes a strong Canadian auto industry, a strong Canadian aluminum industry and copper industry and others,” Carney said.
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All of those named industries have been targeted by Trump with tariffs or named by him as a Canadian industry he has particular issues with.
How Carney will achieve his goals remains to be seen. He’s has spoken about diversifying trade, but Canada has “free-trade” agreements with 51 different countries and most of our trade is still with the United States.
Carney has spoken about a new agreement with Europe, but we struck a free-trade deal with the EU in 2014 under the former Stephen Harper government and it still isn’t fully ratified. There are still 10 countries that have yet to fully approve the deal and, of course, it no longer applies to Britain. Negotiations with the U.K. for a trade deal broke down in early 2024 over Canada’s refusal to allow British cheese-makers greater access to the Canadian market.
It’s not just Trump who has an issue with our dairy industry, it’s the rest of the world.
A question Carney will need to face — if he is looking for a deal with the Americans by Aug. 1 — is whether he can sell any level of tariffs on Canadian exports to the public. He whipped the country into an elbows-up frenzy during the election, but now he’s putting them down again.
A poll released by Angus Reid Tuesday morning showed 63% of Canadians favoured a “hard approach,” even if it means a “worsening of trading relations” with the United States.
The last thing you could call Carney’s approach is hard, but it is likely the right course of action.
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