Prime Minister Mark Carney visits the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE) on the third day of his Liberal Party election campaign in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia March 25.Blair Gable/Reuters
Prime Minister Mark Carney says export taxes on shipments remain an option for retaliation in an escalating Canada-U.S. trade war, adding he’s only interested in serious negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump, “not theatre.”
Mr. Carney, speaking to reporters Tuesday in Halifax during an election campaign stop as Leader of the Liberal Party, was asked whether his cabinet has plans to meet the Trump team, which is preparing another round of punitive tariffs for trading partners next week Wednesday.
“With respect to the President, the point is to have substantive discussions,” Mr. Carney said. “The point is not theatre. The point is to get serious. Sovereign nation to sovereign nation.”
Mr. Carney also promised to buy new submarines, additional heavy-duty icebreakers and hike the pay of Canadian Armed Forces personnel, at a time when Canada is being challenged by the United States and other allies to boost defence spending.
Canada has said it’s open to starting early on renegotiating the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is up for renewal in 2026, in the hopes that the U.S. would focus its efforts on striking a better free-trade deal instead of layering more and more tariffs on this country.
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An export tax is a levy on shipments leaving the country that is intended to impose a cost on foreign companies or governments. It’s collected by the country of origin.
Mr. Trump has not talked to Mr. Carney since he took office as Prime Minister. It’s unusual for a Canadian prime minister and U.S. president to go so long without talking after one of them takes office. A lack of communication between the two leaders means there is no top-level engagement during one of the worst crises in the history of Canada-U.S. relations.
Canada reached out to the White House for a call with Mr. Trump last week but did not receive a reply, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source, as they are not authorized to speak publicly on this issue.
Mr. Carney said earlier this week that he thinks Mr. Trump is waiting for the outcome of the April 28 federal election before engaging with Ottawa.
Mr. Trump has already imposed several punitive tariffs on Canadian imports, including 25-per-cent levies on steel and aluminum, and has promised that more are coming next week – a further economic hit that Mr. Carney, as Prime Minister, will be forced to address in the midst of a five-week election campaign.
Before the trade war began, under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, federal officials privately said Ottawa was mulling export taxes on particularly valuable commodities, such as potash, uranium and oil.
Mr. Carney, asked what retaliation Canada has planned, and whether he is also considering export controls or export taxes, said “those measures are options for Canada.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has publicly opposed export restrictions or export levies on petroleum, suggesting these would trigger a national unity crisis.
Mr. Carney told reporters in Halifax on Tuesday that Ottawa has been working to “prepare for the worst” in advance of the next round of tariffs. He has said Canada has another round of retaliatory tariffs ready to go if necessary that would target $125-billion of U.S. goods. On Friday, Ottawa unveiled a tariff relief package for workers and companies.
Mr. Carney, at a time when Canada is being challenged by the United States and other allies to boost defence spending, promised Tuesday to buy new submarines, additional heavy-duty icebreakers and hike the pay of Canadian Armed Forces personnel.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to call a meeting with his fellow premiers in the coming days, anticipating there will still be some tariffs imposed next week. The premiers will likely request a meeting with Mr. Carney to discuss Canada’s response, according to a senior Ontario government source. The Globe is not identifying the source, as they were was not authorized to speak publicly about internal deliberations.
The source said Ontario has been told by officials in United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s office that the province will receive notice of the tariffs before they are publicly announced.
The source added that in the meeting with Mr. Ford earlier this month, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the Premier agreed not to surprise one another and to lower the temperature in the trade war, as well as keep discussions going between the two countries. While the province has not eliminated its threat of resuming the 25-per-cent electricity surcharge on the U.S., it remains a measure of last resort, the source said.
The source said the surcharge, which Mr. Ford briefly instituted then dropped, would not be used as long as discussions continue and there is an opportunity to ease and eliminate tariffs on Canada, adding that the province does not want to jeopardize the progress made in talks with the U.S.
The Financial Times reported Tuesday that Mr. Trump is considering a two-step approach to his new tariff regime, deploying rarely used powers to impose emergency duties while probes into trading partners are completed.
The newspaper, citing anonymous sources, said that among proposals his team has been discussing is a plan to launch so-called Section 301 investigations into trading partners, while simultaneously using rarely invoked emergency powers to apply immediate tariffs in the interim.
Mr. Trump said this week he “may give a lot of countries breaks” from next week’s tariffs. But he still spoke of raising significant revenue through levies on other countries through an External Revenue Service agency.
“We’ll be announcing some additional tariffs over the next few days, having to do with automobiles, cars, and having also to do a little bit with lumber down the road – lumber and [semi-conductor] chips,” Mr. Trump said.