Carney Tells Trump: Stop Trying to Be Tough, Let's Negotiate

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called on the Trump administration to stop its aggressive tactics and engage in serious trade negotiations. In response to a recent barrage of attacks from Washington, including renaming Lake Ontario 'Lake America' and taunting Canada on social media, Carney said that when the Americans 'stop trying to be tough,' they can have real discussions.

The U.S.-Canada trade talks collapsed last month after failing to reach an agreement. Trump imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian goods, prompting Canada's retaliatory tariffs on nearly $20 billion in U.S. goods, set to take effect September 8 with duties ranging from 15% to 50%. Carney accused the United States of pursuing terms that could leave Canadian industries 'gradually wound down in Canada and wiped out.'

Carney's comments came after a verbal beatdown from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said that Canada couldn't 'go tit for tat' with an economy 13 times larger. The Pentagon also stood by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's mocking post on social media, saying the image spoke for itself.

Carney emphasized that any deal would require serious consideration of Canada's sovereignty and interests, warning that Washington sought to limit its future trade deals and impose uncompetitive terms on key industries like autos. He said there were mutually beneficial elements in a previous agreement before talks broke down.