Carney says Canada won’t make a “bad deal” on U.S. tariffs

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country “will not accept bad deals” just to reach a trade deal with the United States, as the August 1 deadline comes before U.S. President Donald Trump begins to impose new tariffs.

“Our goal is not to reach a deal,” Carney told the Ontario reporter. “We are pursuing a deal that is in the best interests of Canadians.”

If a deal is not concluded before the deadline, U.S. importers purchasing goods from Canada will face a 35% tax.

Neighbors are one of each other’s largest trading partners, but have been in a stalemate after Trump returned to the White House earlier this year and released a wide range of tariff plans.

He believes these will promote American manufacturing and conservation efforts. However, the move has undermined the global economy and has drawn warning from critics that criticism of products may become more expensive for American consumers.

Trump has imposed a 25% blanket tariff on imports of certain Canadian goods and a 50% tariff on imports of aluminum and steel.

Speaking on Tuesday, Carney said he would consider taking action to protect aluminum and wood companies, two of the country’s major industries, and hinted at the possibility of other trade protectionist measures as the full impact of U.S. tariffs.

The Prime Minister previously announced that Steel imports into Canada impose higher tariffs.

“This may be the case in the next few months… We will see other support needs for the most affected sectors,” the Prime Minister said at a gathering of Canadian provincial leaders.

Canada sells about three-quarters of the goods to the United States. In addition to metals and wood, Canada also exports a large amount of oil, automobile and auto parts, other machinery, food and medicines.

According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. exported nearly 35 billion Canadian dollars (£258 million) of goods to Canada in 2024 and imported more than $412 million from its northern neighbors.

Trump announced various tariffs in specific product categories and countries and accused the United States of having been unfairly treated by its foreign trading partners.

He also provided other reasons for the tariffs, including that he was trying to put pressure on his neighbors to curb illegal shipments of fentanyl to the United States.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, about 0.2% of all seizures that fentanyl enters the United States occur on the border with Canada, and almost all the rest are confiscated at the border with Mexico.

Since releasing the global tariff plan, Trump has announced some deals (including deals with the UK, Japan and Indonesia) – but these agreements have maintained some higher tariff rates.

For example, on Tuesday, the White House announced a deal with the Philippines, including 19% tariffs on goods in the country, higher than the initially announced 17% tax rate, but threatened Trump’s 20% tariffs in a letter earlier this month.