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Mark Carney says Canada can’t accept US trade deal that would weaken French language
Prime minister praised for rejecting US trade proposal as Trump shows little interest in retreating from disputeMark Carney said on Monday that while American negotiators saw the French language in Canada as an “irritant … in Quebec, these are rights,” days after receiving widespread praise from political leaders for rejecting a US trade proposal that many perceived as weakening the country’s Francophone culture.
The prime minister’s remarks came hours after the US president, Donald Trump, showed little interest in retreating from the spat, posting on social media that Canada had been “ripping off the United States of America for years” and threatening a swath of new, economically devastating tariffs on cars and trucks.
Carney instructed his negotiators to walk away from trade talks last week. Tariffs on an array of Canadian products took effect over the weekend, affecting around 5% of Canada’s exports to the US, and Canada said it will retaliate in early September.
On Monday, Carney toured a shipyard with Quebec’s premier, telling attendees Canada “could not accept” a proposed trade deal that would have weakened French language protections after trade talks collapsed between the two countries last week, adding that his government “will not give what they have asked”.
The prime minister’s decision to abandon trade talks with the US spurred declarations from political leaders and pundits in Canada that the country is now fully locked into an economic war with its longtime ally.
Quebec, Canada’s predominantly French-speaking province, has long sought to protect its distinct identity, at times with laws that clashed with the federal government and the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms.
In recent years those rules have also frustrated US negotiators, who have framed them as trade irritants. Bill 96, for example, requires products sold in Quebec to have a French description and for trademarks using generic terms to be translated into French, while Bill 109 compels media services such as Netflix, Spotify and Apple to promote and prioritize French content for Quebec users.
Quebec’s premier, Christine Fréchette, said Carney had made the right decision in walking away from talks that looked to cross a “red line” for Francophones.
“Our culture, our language is central to our identity and it is important to exclude that from the negotiation table,” she told reporters over the weekend. “It’s something that is crucial for us and it won’t change, even though we are threatened with different tariffs, it won’t change. We will stay the way we are.”
Polling from earlier in the month shows that dislike for Trump is highest in Quebec. Separatists in the province have seen a sharp decline in support amid the economic wounds inflicted by the US.
Last week, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the sovereigntist politician most likely to emerge victorious in upcoming provincial elections, said his party would delay a possible referendum into seceding from Canada until Trump is out of office. He wrote that deciding Quebec’s political fate “must not be hijacked by the upheaval of American politics, the outbursts of an unpredictable president or by a campaign of fear”.
The Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce (FCCQ) called the tariffs a “worst-case scenario” for the province’s businesses.
“Quebec, in fact, has been the most affected by these tariffs since the very beginning of this trade war,” Fréchette said. “In all our regions, businesses risk losing contracts. In fact, it has already begun.”
On Monday, Trump’s top trade representative, Jamieson Greer, called reports that French language protections were up for debate a “a funny fake story”.
“That is not true,” Greer told CNBC. “I like the Quebecois and I like that they speak French.” He said both he and his sons speak the language.
He claimed the issue at stake was that Americans did not like Canada “forcing” streaming giants in the US to pay some of their profits to support Canadian content. Canada had already dropped that position, however, previously abandoning elements of digital services tax.
“I understand why the Quebecois want to have French language content. We think that’s a really valuable thing and we encourage countries to really put their own country first and put their national identity first.”
Carney rejected that framing, telling reporters it was not “funny” and there was an “enormous spread” in perspectives.
Also on Monday, Trump redoubled his efforts to wage economic war against his country’s longtime political, security and economic ally.
“Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years,” Trump wrote on social media. Criticizing Canada’s “ridiculously high tariffs” on American farmers, Trump wrote: “Not sustainable, and not anymore!”
The president, who faces mounting domestic unease over his trade spat with Canada, pledged to increase tariffs on cars, trucks, auto parts and steel beginning on 1 January . “We don’t need Canada, they need us!” he wrote, using capital letters.
The move has provoked an increasingly predictable backlash from political leaders.
The Conservative premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, told local media Trump can “kiss my ass”.
“We need to throw everything in the kitchen sink at him. He’s arrogant, he’s cocky, and you know, as Ronald Reagan said, if you come to a draw with a bully, what stops that bully from coming after you the next day and the next day. And that’s all Donald Trump is – is a bully,” said Ford. “Well, he’s going to have a rude awakening.”
Mark Carney says Canada can’t accept US trade deal that would weaken French language
Prime minister praised for rejecting US trade proposal as Trump shows little interest in retreating from dispute
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Canada announces 'dollar-for-dollar' retaliatory tariffs on US as high as 50%
Canada has announced counter-tariffs as high as 50% on a range of US goods in retaliation to the latest wave of levies on Canadian imports imposed by President Donald Trump last weekend.
The Canadian tariffs will apply to nearly C$28bn ($20bn; £15bn) worth of American products, ranging from steel to furniture, fresh tuna and cotton T-shirts, officials announced on Tuesday.
The list of targeted products is designed to match Canadian goods hit by the US. The Canadian levies are set to come into effect on 8 September.
It is the latest escalation after US-Canada trade talks collapsed late last week, with each side accusing the other of making last-minute demands that were unreasonable.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said that Canada's retaliation is in response to 50% tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on a range of Canadian goods after trade talks fell apart on Friday.
"Those tariffs will have real consequences for Canadian workers, businesses and communities across our nation," he said. "Canada must respond."
Champagne characterised Canada's retaliation as "proportionate" and "strategic".
He added that Canada will also offer businesses and workers impacted by US tariffs an additional C$7.5bn for support programmes designed to minimise job losses and keep companies afloat.
Placing taxes on trade between what are historically two of the world's closest trading partners will undoubtedly lead to pain on both sides of the border.
Supply chains which have been developed over decades are set to see increased trading costs due the latest tariff announcements made from both the US and Canada, ultimately hitting businesses of all sizes and consumers through potentially higher prices.
Polls suggest the majority of Canadians support their government in holding firm against the US.
But some questions remain on exactly why trade talks fell apart, with the Conservative opposition asking that the full text of the draft deal with the US be released.
Businesses have also expressed concerns about the impact of a prolonged trade war with Canada's largest trading partner.
The White House released a statement after Canada announced its counter-tariffs, saying that the US was prepared to offer Canada "the most preferential market access of any country on Earth" in recent trade talks.
"Instead of partnership, Canada chose unreasonable demands, walk-backs, and flat-out rejection," it said.
In a series of Tuesday posts on Truth Social, Trump also accused Canada of "ripping off" the US for decades and of charging American farmers steep tariffs.
"I deal with many countries, and Canada is easily the most difficult and unreasonable," Trump wrote. "They feel entitled, but they are not a State, and will be entitled no longer!"
He suggested that he will change the name of Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes on the US-Canada border, to Lake America, writing: "We don't expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer."
Trump threatened this week to hike US tariffs on Canadian automobiles to 50% as of 1 January.
Prime Minister Mark Carney responded by accusing Trump of wanting to "destroy" Canadian industries including the automobile manufacturing and steel and aluminum sectors.
Public rhetoric on both sides reached a fever pitch on Monday, but some officials struck a more diplomatic tone on Tuesday with hopes that talks could be resumed.
After calling Trump a "loser" on Monday at a news conference, Ontario Premier Doug Ford acknowledged in an interview with CNN that "things got a little heated".
"But I want to make a deal — a good deal for the American people, a good deal for Canadians," Ford said.
The escalation also puts into question the future of a North American free trade pact between Canada, the US and Mexico called the USMCA.
President Claudia Sheinbaum had despatched her economy secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, to Washington for emergency talks after trade negotiations collapsed with Canada.
Canada announces 'dollar-for-dollar' retaliatory tariffs on US as high as 50%
The latest escalation in an ongoing trade war between the US and Canada will see new levies on goods from steel to furniture, fresh tuna and makeup.
www.bbc.com
