Government officials in Canada are hoping to strike a deal with the United States to end the ongoing trade war.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Canada is willing to drop tariffs against the United States if President Trump agrees to do the same.
“As long as the president drops their tariffs. We never started this tariff war. The president did. We’re matching exactly what the president put on Canada. So if he wants us to go first, by all means, as long as he follows,” Premier Ford said.
The White House is currently considering offers from 15 countries on tariff agreements, but Premier Ford tells FOX News that Canada has not started negotiations with the United States.
Premier Ford said Canada could be ready to sit down at the negotiating table in the next couple of weeks, but the Premier does not have any meetings scheduled with Washington as of right now.
AUSTRAILIA REFUSES TO ‘JOIN HANDS’ WITH CHINA TO FIGHT US TARIFFS
“We need to get through this as quickly as possible to give people certainty,” Premier Ford said. “You’re messing, not with the billionaires. You’re messing with common folk that have their pensions and have investments in the market.”
In the midst of the ongoing trade war, Canada is also in the middle of a federal election. Officials tell FOX News that negotiations will likely continue after Canadian voters elect the next Prime Minister.
Premier Ford says the United States and Canada should consider a brand-new trade deal — this time, without Mexico.
“I just want Mexico to play fair in the sandbox, and they haven’t been playing fair. They’ve been importing cheap Chinese parts and putting made in Mexico stickers on. If they want to play fair and go by the rules like the U.S. and Canada have been, then by all means, they’re welcome. But if they don’t want to play fair, then they shouldn’t be in the same room,” Ford said.
Premier Ford said Trump’s tariffs should be aimed towards China, not Canada.
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“I agree with President Trump, let’s put tariffs on China. I was the first one in Canada to come out and say we need to tariff China. And we tariff them on the EV sector at 100%,” Ford said. “We are not the problem, Canada. I’ll tell you who the problem is. It’s China.”
In a post on X, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said, “The pause on reciprocal tariffs announced by President Trump is a welcome reprieve for the global economy. As President Trump and I have agreed, the U.S. President and the Canadian Prime Minister will commence negotiations on a new economic and security relationship immediately following the Federal election,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said. “As part of [the] announcement, the President has signaled that the U.S. will engage in bilateral negotiations with a number of countries. This will likely result in a fundamental restructuring of the global trading system.”
Canada slapped the United States with a 25% auto tariff on most cars coming from the United States, after President Trump announced an identical tariff on U.S. car imports. Canada’s counter tariffs went into effect Wednesday morning.
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