Former US Vice President Mike Pence says ‘last thing we need right now…is a trade war with Canada’ as talks fail

Former US Vice President Mike Pence cautioned that the United States and Canada engaging in a trade war would be detrimental to the US economy, as the negotiations reached a dead end. Pence, present in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, addressed high costs that Americans are currently facing and recommended negotiations instead of confrontation.

He emphasized that the US is "getting back on its feet" economically and urged the administration to pursue free trade with allied nations. Pence spoke out after the US imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, comprising whiskey, hockey gear, and other goods, following the failure of trade talks. The decision to impose these tariffs was taken in response to the collapse of the trade negotiations, which had been ongoing for several weeks.

Washington had expressed optimism about concluding a deal with Canada, citing their strong relationship with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. However, the discussions did not yield any progress, and Carney retaliated by announcing tariffs on US imports, accusing the US of proposing unfair terms. The Canadian PM highlighted that Washington had imposed restrictions on Canada's trade with other countries and threatened the French language and Quebec culture, which significantly contributed to the breakdown of negotiations.