Carney says he and Trump will intensify trade negotiations after US
imposes 50% tariffs
[July 22, 2026] By
JIM MORRIS
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
said Tuesday that he and Donald Trump have agreed to intensify
negotiations on a trade agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico a
day after the U.S. president announced 50% tariffs on most Canadian
goods.
Carney’s comments came after Trump declared that Canada has unfairly
discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products. The
new tariffs were scheduled to come into effect 30 days from Monday.
“I spoke this morning with the U.S. president and we agreed to deepen
and speed up our negotiations over the next few weeks,” Carney said in
Ottawa. “Canada will do all that is necessary to support our jobs, our
workers, our farmers and to make Canada stronger, more independent and
more resilient.”
The tariffs could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of
higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations
that previously had warm, close ties before Trump’s return to the White
House. The administration official previewing the action Monday said
Canada was one of the only nations other than China that retaliated
against Trump’s previous tariffs and must be held accountable.
The US did not renew the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement
The new 50% tariffs would exclude energy products, potash, fish and
critical minerals, but would include goods previously protected from
import taxes by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.
That 2020 trade pact was not renewed by the U.S., triggering a new set
of negotiations that could run until 2036.
Carney said he planned to meet virtually with the country’s premiers
later in the day Tuesday. British Columbia Premier David Eby was blunt
in his criticism of Trump and the proposed tariffs.
“This feels like an increasingly desperate and flailing approach to
relationships with our country,” he said in Charlottetown, Prince Edward
Island, where premiers and territorial leaders were meeting. “There’s no
question it will hurt families in British Columbia."
Eby said Trump is wrong to think he can “bully us into whatever he
wishes.”
“I feel sorry for Americans,” he said. “If you can’t be friends with
Canada, then you almost certainly do not have friends anywhere in the
world, and that is a very lonely place to be.”
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said tariffs hurt both countries.
“When tariffs are applied it increases the cost for families and to do
business on both sides of the border,” he said. “These tariffs do
nothing for making a more competitive North American economy.”
Premier urges Canada to be more aggressive with Trump
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Canada should stand up to Trump.
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Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney makes a statement outside the
Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council in Ottawa, on
Tuesday, July 21, 2026.(Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)
 “We always seem to be on our back
heels,” he said. “We need to be on the offense. Not constantly on
the defense with President Trump. We need to stand up to the bully,
and we need to hit him tariff to tariff, all the way across the
board.”
Trump on Tuesday told reporters in the Oval Office that he loves the
people of Canada but claimed the country needs the United States to
survive. “Canada’s been very, very tough on us over the years, for
many years, and no other president’s done anything about it,” he
said.
Trump added that the new tariffs are separate from his threats to
hit Canada with additional levies due to wildfire smoke that
affected millions of people in the Great Lakes, Northeast and
Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. He repeated his claim that Canada
is not managing its forests properly.
Canadian economists say the tariffs are more narrowly focused than
first believed and would affect around 5% of Canada’s exports to the
United States. The wide range of goods includes honey, liquor,
cement and hockey sticks.
Robert Kavcic, a senior economist with the Bank of Montreal, said in
a note to clients that the proposed tariffs would cover roughly $28
billion Canadian ($19.8 billion U.S.) worth of annual Canadian
exports to the United States. That amounts to 0.8% of the Canadian
economy, he said.
Kavcic said it appears that chemicals, plastics, electronics and
industrial equipment are the biggest target in the new tariffs,
followed by consumer goods and forestry products. Miscellaneous
manufacturing machinery and agricultural or food products round out
the list.
Tiff over bans on sales of US alcohol
One frustration for the U.S. is that eight Canadian provinces have
banned the sale of U.S. alcohol at provincially operated liquor
stores. Carney said it’s up to the provinces to decide if they wish
to continue the ban.
Eby said the citizens of his province support the ban.
“There is not a chance in hell that U.S. alcohol is going back on
the shelf in British Columbia,” he said.
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