Canada PM Mike Carney's FIRST Reaction As Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs: 'Disappointed By This Action, But...'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) "Canadian Prime Minister Mike Carney reacted on Friday hours after US President Donald Trump imposed a 35 per cent duty on the import of its goods, saying that he was 'disappointed' in the action by the American government.

Trump on Thursday declared US tariffs on Canad at the rate of 35 per cent on products outside the scope of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. This was a sharp hike from the earlier 25 per cent Trump tariffs.

“While the Canadian government is disappointed by this action, we remain committed to CUSMA, which is the world's second-largest free trade agreement by trading volume,” Carney said in a statement.

The US application of CUSMA means that the US average tariff rate on Canadian goods remains one of its lowest for all of its trading partners, Carney said in the statement posted on X.

However, he noted that sectors like steel, auto, aluminium have been“heavily impacted” by US tariffs.

“Other sectors of our economy-including lumber, steel, aluminum, and automobiles-are, however, heavily impacted by US duties and tariffs.”

Canada will act to protect these sectors from Trump tariff , Carney said.

“For such sectors, the Canadian government will act to protect Canadian jobs, invest in our industrial competitiveness, buy Canadian, and diversity our export markets,” he said in the statement.

US tariffs on Canada: Why did Trump hike tariffs?

Donald Trump , signing an executive order on Thursday, justified the US tariff move on Canada on the basis of the cross-border flow of fentanyl.

However, Carney claimed that Canada accounts for only 1% of US fentanyl imports and has been“working intensively” to further reduce these volumes.

“Canada's government is making historic investments in border security to arrest drug traffickers, take down transnational gangs, and end migrant smuggling,” Carney said, adding,“We will continue working with the United States to stop the scourge of fentanyl and save lives in both our countries.”

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The Canadian PM said his will continue to negotiate with the United States on its trading relationship, but will be“laser focused” on its endeavour to build the country strong.

“We are developing a series of major nation-building projects with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners. Together, these initiatives have the potential to catalyse over half a trillion dollars of new investments in Canada,” he said.

Canadians will be the 'best customers'

In a shift to depending on US and its consumers to grow the economy, Mike Carney batted for Canadians to be its“own best customer”.

“Canadians will be our own best customer, creating more well-paying careers at home, as we strengthen and diversify our trading partnerships throughout the world,” Carney said.

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“We can give ourselves more than any foreign government can ever take away by building with Canadian workers and by using Canadian resources to benefit all Canadians,” he said.

Donald Trump slapped steep tariffs on exports from dozens of trading partners including Canada, Brazil, India and Taiwan, pressing ahead with his plans to reorder the global economy ahead of a Friday trade deal deadline.

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