Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Thursday that Ottawa stands ready to conclude a trade agreement with Washington on terms favorable to both nations, while noting that the U.S. has backed away from certain positions it held when talks fell apart last month.

“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 in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Carney said that before talks broke down, the U.S. had taken an “our way or the highway” stance on several issues but has since retreated from some of those positions — specifically on Canadian language and culture provisions. “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. It’s good. We welcome that.”

Carney took issue with assertions by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that Canada abandoned the negotiations for reasons rooted in domestic politics. “I don’t think, with all respect, appointed, unelected cabinet members in the United States are experts on Canadian politics,” Carney said.

Trump responded on Truth Social not long after Carney’s remarks, writing that it was “very good for Canadian Politicians like Prime Minister Mark Carney to make President Donald J. Trump ‘the enemy,'” and adding that such a posture would bring Canada’s economy to ruin.

The two countries have been locked in a prolonged trade dispute. Negotiations over a bilateral trade framework that examined potential tariff reductions on Canadian steel, aluminum, and automobiles stalled last month after several issues remained unresolved, including Canada’s dairy supply management system, provincial restrictions on U.S. alcohol sales, and how to measure vehicle content for tariff purposes.

Trump had earlier paused 50% tariffs on certain Canadian goods — imposed under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 targeting Canada’s auto, alcohol, and dairy sectors — to allow time for negotiations. Those duties were originally scheduled to take effect August 22.

Carney said any eventual agreement would need to offer stability and credibility to be acceptable to Canada.