New US tariffs designed to ‘hurt and divide’ Canada: Premier Carney

By Maryam Ashalem de Andres

ISTANBUL (AA) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Saturday accused the US of using its new tariffs to “hurt and divide” Canada, calling them a “miscalculation” and vowing dollar-for-dollar retaliation.

“The new US tariffs are designed to hurt and divide us,” Carney said in remarks published by his office. “They’re a miscalculation because Canadians will always take care of each other.”

Carney said Canada would respond to the latest tariff measures with counter-tariffs set to take effect Sept. 8.

The measures will target products including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp, paper and electronics, he said.

Carney also said Canada would never give up “exclusive access” to its critical minerals.

The Canadian leader said Ottawa had suspended trade talks with Washington after the US made demands that Canada could not accept.

The US, meanwhile, accused Canada of walking away from a nearly completed agreement that would have further lowered tariffs on its exports to the American market.

“Under President Trump, Canada has had the lowest tariffs for its exports to the U.S. market. At the last minute, Canada walked away from a nearly completed deal that would have lowered these tariffs even further,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in remarks published by his office.

“Despite the U.S. offer to Canada to receive the best treatment of any major exporter to our market, new demands and walk backs of other commitments by Canada have upended the careful balance reached in the past days,” said Greer.

He did not provide details on the proposed agreement.

The US and Canada are parties to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which governs much of the trade between those countries. The agreement took effect in 2020.