Five Things: Prime Minister Carney explains by Canada left the U.S. negotiating table

OTTAWA - Canada is preparing to impose dollar-for-dollar tariffs in response to new 50 percent duties on $28 billion worth of Canadian products that went into effect as talks with the U.S. broke down. Prime Minister Mark Carney explained to the Canadian negotiating team, led by Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief negotiator Janice Charette, that they were leaving the table due to the U.S. introducing language that would restrict Canada's ability to make other trade deals.

This restriction, Carney said, was unacceptable and amounted to a power play that threatened Canadian sovereignty. The U.S. had proposed reducing tariffs on certain sectors in exchange for concessions, but the Canadian government viewed the U.S. insistence on limiting the tariff scope to autos only, excluding medium and heavy-duty trucks, as making production more uneconomic over time.

The Canadian government also rejected the U.S.'s proposal to grant exclusive access to critical mineral exports, emphasizing that Canada would not give up its critical mineral exports to any single trading partner.