OTTAWA — It is not a coincidence that U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat against Canada came just ahead of negotiations on renewing North America’s main free-trade pact, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday.
“The president is a strong negotiator and … I think some of these comments and positioning should be viewed in the broader context of that,” Carney said at an unrelated announcement in Ottawa on Monday.
In a weekend social media post in which he referred to Carney as “governor,” Trump threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods if Ottawa reaches a trade deal with China.
In subsequent posts, Trump wrote “China is successfully and completely taking over the once Great Country of Canada,” adding, “I only hope they leave Ice Hockey alone!”
The Canada-U.S.-Mexico-Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA, was negotiated during the first Trump administration and served as an early stress test for Ottawa.
There were tensions during the talks and Trump repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs, but ultimately the agreement, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement, was signed and all three countries hailed it a success.
The trade agreement’s future is much less certain now, as Canada, Mexico and the United States prepare for the mandatory review. Trump said earlier this month the trade deal was “irrelevant” to him.
The president previously called the deal “transitional” and, during a meeting with Carney at the White House last October, Trump said it may have served its purpose.
Despite the president’s angry social media outbursts over the weekend, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said he had a cordial and lengthy phone conversation with Trump’s trade czar on Sunday.
LeBlanc said he was reassured when U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated a clear desire to work on the CUSMA review. LeBlanc said he told Greer Ottawa is ready to have detailed conversations quickly, and they committed to holding a call later this week and to meeting in person soon.
Greer himself has expressed skepticism about the continental trade agreement. Greer previously said the Trump administration is also considering splitting up the three-way pact and negotiating separate deals with Canada and Mexico.
Carney said he expects the CUSMA review to be “robust.” Trump’s public comments over the past year show Canada shouldn’t expect a smooth ride through the process.
Trump originally expressed support for Ottawa’s agreement with China but he changed his tune after Carney’s widely praised speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week.