Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said trade talks with the United States will restart on one condition. American officials must stop posting memes and start being serious.
He spoke in Ottawa on Tuesday. Canada’s retaliatory tariffs land in one week, and neither side has booked a meeting since talks collapsed in August.
Why US-Canada Trade Talks Collapsed
Canada walked out on August 21 and called its negotiators home. Carney said Washington wanted Canadian industries turned into subsidiaries of US firms, or wound down. He refused.
The US hit back a day later with 50% tariffs on Canadian goods worth roughly $20 billion. That number sounds big, but it only covers about 5% of the $382 billion Canada shipped south last year, US Census Bureau data shows.
To do so, the White House invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The law lets a president hit countries that discriminate against US exporters. No president had ever used it.
The choice was forced. In February, the Supreme Court struck down Trump tariffs built on a 1977 emergency law. Section 338 caps duties at 50%, so Trump took the ceiling.
“This law is literally a blank canvas because it’s never been litigated,” noted Ryan Majerus, partner at law firm King & Spalding and a former US trade official.
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The Meme War Now Sets the Tone
Trump signed an order on August 27 renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” for US government use. He then posted an AI video of armed Canada geese wearing his hairstyle. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mocked Canada’s navy on CNBC.
Canada and the rest of the world reject the change and still call it Lake Ontario.
“When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions,” said Carney on Tuesday in Ottawa.
Canada’s reply arrives September 8, taxing more than 700 US products and covering C$27.6 billion in trade.
The costs are real, considering softwood lumber duties on Canadian imports now total 45%, the National Association of Home Builders says.
Whether those September 8 duties hold, or become a bargaining chip, will signal more than any post.
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