Carney: Canada is ready to resume trade negotiations "when the United States is ready" after Trump's sudden decision to halt them

Ottawa – (Agencies)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday that Canada is ready to resume trade negotiations with the United States “when Washington is ready for that,” hours after US President Donald Trump announced the end of all trade talks between the two countries due to a Canadian anti-tariff advertisement.

Carney explained, before leaving Ottawa for a nine-day Asian tour, that his country cannot “control the trade policy of the United States,” adding:

“We recognize that US trade policy has changed radically from what it was in the eighties, nineties, and early new millennium, but we stand ready to build on the progress made when the US administration is ready for that.”

Carney pointed out that Canadian and American negotiators had made progress on steel, aluminum, and energy files before Trump’s sudden decision, confirming that Ottawa “is committed to continuing dialogue when political conditions in Washington allow.”

Crisis Background: The Fake “Reagan” Advertisement Explodes Relations

The US president announced Thursday evening the end of all negotiations with Ottawa after a Canadian TV advertisement aired criticizing US tariffs and using compiled clips from an old speech by former President Ronald Reagan, reassembled to appear as a direct criticism of Trump’s trade policies.

Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform:

“Based on this outrageous behavior, all trade negotiations with Canada have been terminated.”

The controversial advertisement was funded by the Ontario provincial government with a budget of 75 million dollars and began airing on US television networks simultaneously with the World Series baseball games. After a wave of American anger, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced he would stop airing the advertisement starting next Monday “to create conditions for resuming trade talks.”

Ford said via the X platform (formerly Twitter):

“Our goal was to open a discussion about the future of the economy and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses. We have achieved our goal, and we hope this step will allow the return of constructive dialogue.”

The White House criticizes.. and Carney maintains calm

Meanwhile, Kevin Hassett, the top economic advisor at the White House, said in an interview with Fox News that “the negotiations with the Canadians were not friendly in the first place, and President Trump is very frustrated with how Ottawa is handling things.”

Despite that, Carney chose a calm diplomatic tone, affirming that his country “will continue to work with all its trading partners to secure the interests of the Canadian people.”

Growing Economic Repercussions

Canada is the second-largest trading partner of the United States after China, with the trade exchange between the two countries exceeding 900 billion dollars last year, while about 75% of Canadian exports go to the US market.

However, the tariffs imposed by Trump – which reach up to 35% on some goods and specific taxes on steel and cars – have caused severe damage to the energy and manufacturing sectors in Canada, especially in Ontario, the center of the automotive and steel industries.

Carney’s government seeks to gradually reduce those tariffs through bilateral negotiations that were until recently seen as a sign of improving relations between the two countries.

Potential Meeting Soon

Despite the declared rupture, Carney and Trump are expected to meet face-to-face next week during their participation in the “ASEAN” summit in Malaysia and the “APEC” summit in South Korea.

Observers say the anticipated meeting could represent a “rare diplomatic opportunity” to reopen communication channels and ease tensions between Ottawa and Washington, especially after trade relations between the two sides experienced sharp fluctuations in recent months.