Canada and the U.S. Prepare to Negotiate a New Trade Agreement
Canadian PM Mark Carney. X/ @LPGeek
April 10, 2025 Hour: 2:35 pm
Ministers from both countries are in talks to ensure ‘constructive negotiations’ between Carney and Trump.
On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney revealed that his administration is in talks with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to prepare for trade negotiations with Donald Trump following the Canadian elections on April 28.
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International Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is in discussions with Lutnick to ensure “constructive negotiations between the Prime Minister of Canada and the President of the United States,” Carney said.
On March 28, the Canadian Prime Minister held a phone conversation with Trump. In this first and only direct contact between the two leaders, they discussed launching negotiations for a new trade and security agreement as soon as the general elections are held in April.
Carney also announced that he would suspend his election campaign on Friday to travel to Ottawa and chair a meeting with key ministers to address the tariffs the U.S. has imposed on Canada.
“Tariffs are still in effect. These tariffs are a threat to our families, our workers, and our businesses. And although they have been imposed under various excuses, they are all unjustified, undeserved, and wrong. We will fight these tariffs until they are lifted,” the Canadian Prime Minister said.
Although Canada is excluded from the round of reciprocal tariffs that Trump announced last week, the country is still affected by two other sets of duties: the so-called “Fentanyl Tariffs,” which impose a 25% duty on steel and aluminum and a 10% duty on energy, as well as 25% tariffs on the automotive sector.
The Canadian leader reiterated that the truce on reciprocal tariffs announced Wednesday by U.S. President Donald Trump is “welcome,” even though it does not apply to Canada, and said that this morning he spoke with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Carney stated that their conversation focused on “understanding” the EU’s decision to approve “countermeasures” against U.S. tariffs and to delay their implementation pending negotiations with Washington.
The Prime Minister described the conversation as “very good”: “She fully understands our strategy, and I fully understand the strategy of the European Commission.” At a campaign event in the Greater Toronto Area, Carney also blamed the illegal trafficking of firearms into Canada on “irresponsible U.S. gun laws” and “the weakness” of U.S. border control measures.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
