Canada’s prime minister has said there is just one way he will permit a trade partnership with Donald Trump.
Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose Liberal Party had just won the snap election in the country, has already addressed the pressing matter of the escalating trade war with the US.
Speaking to the BBC, Carney admitted that there is an 'economic and security partnership to be had' with the US, but warned it hinged on Canada's terms, 'not on their terms.'
The former governor of the Bank of Canada stressed that his country deserves 'respect' from the US after Trump has continually teased Canada about becoming the US' '51st state.'
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To this end, Trump has also referred to Carney and his predecessor Justin Trudeau as 'governors' of Canada, a title given to leaders of individual American states, and suggested calling off his tariffs plan for the country if it were to join.
Yet in his post-election interview, Carney doubled-down and stressed his country's sovereignty, saying that joining the US is 'never, ever going to happen'.
He added: "Frankly, I don't think it's ever going to happen with respect to any other [country]... whether it's Panama or Greenland or elsewhere."
The pair have been embroiled in a trade spat ever since Carney became the interim prime minister in January and as Trump announced hefty tariffs on Canadian goods from automobiles to steel and aluminum.
The POTUS outlined a blanket 25 percent tariff on various Canadian goods, though some are exempted as per the US, Canada and Mexico (USMCA) trade deal that Trump signed off on during his first term in 2020.
Still, Canada were quick to retaliate with some C$60 billion ($42 billion) worth of tariffs on US goods, while the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, threatened to switch off the power to 1.5 million people and businesses in New York, Michigan and Minnesota.
When asked if he would go and visit Trump, Carney said: "I’ve been to Washington, I’ve been in the White House… so I’m not going as a tourist, I’ll go when there’s a serious discussion to be had.
"I would distinguish between what the president wants and what the president expects. Yes he has this view, his territorial views, that’s never ever going to happen, with respect to Canada.
"So the question is when are we ready to have that discussion, remembering that we are the biggest client for more than 40 states. We supply them with vital energy… so we deserve respect, we expect respect and I’m sure we’ll get it in due course again."
Meanwhile, the PM says there's a 'win-win' partnership on the cards if he can build solid trading relationships with the EU and UK - and the US if Trump is open to negotiating.
"We could expand the level of integration between our countries, like-minded countries." Carney said. "You think about defence partnerships, and those conversations have just just begun, so there's a lot that we can do."
The election win also comes for Carney as Canadian voters reportedly considered Trump and the US' tariffs plans at the ballot box in hopes the new leader would address the 'crisis.'
Topics: Canada, Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Tariffs
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