Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that Ottawa stands ready to deepen trade talks with the United States, after US President Donald Trump ordered fresh tariffs targeting Canada.
"This is the latest in a series of unilateral US trade actions that began with the US imposing a series of tariffs in direct violation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement," Carney said of US admin's plan for 50-percent duties on many Canadian products.
He added that Canada has made proposals to resolve disputes as Washington transformed its trade ties, and is "ready to intensify those discussions."
Earlier, Trump admin imposed 50 percent tariffs on most Canadian goods, declaring that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products.
Section 338
The administration official previewing the action said that Canada was one of the only nations other than China that retaliated against Trump's previous tariffs and must be held accountable.
The official insisted on anonymity on a call with reporters to preview the president's actions and said that Trump signed three proclamations to launch the tariffs under Section 338 of the 1930 Trade Act. Several Democratic lawmakers last year proposed repealing the section because they said Trump could use it to destabilise the economy.
The 50 percent tariffs would exclude energy products, potash, fish and critical minerals, but they would include goods that had previously been protected from import taxes by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.
That 2020 trade pact recently expired and triggered a new set of negotiations that could run until 2036.
The official said that Trump had also requested that his aides look into additional tariffs on Canada because its wildfires hurt air quality in the US.
