Trump, ranting further, ended up describing Canada’s political leadership as “the worst” he has to deal with, apart from making repeated assertions that Ottawa is ripping off the US.
He also posted an AI-generated meme showing Canadian geese with Trump’s distinctive hairstyle marching under an American flag.
Carney, a central banker-turned-politician, on the other hand, has maintained a calm-yet-determined composure, stating that there was still a chance to strike a mutually beneficial trade deal that respected Canadian sovereignty.
“And when the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions,” Carney said, adding that recent US actions were “not constructive.”
The Trump administration, however, has disputed part of the Canadian narrative regarding the reasons for the talks’ collapse, asserting that a favourable deal was available.
However, Carney stated that Ottawa never considered the proposed terms adequate, particularly regarding the highly integrated auto sector.
“The attitude of the United States… has been one that the core Canadian industries either would be subsidiaries, effectively, of the United States industries, or (Washington) would put in place terms where those industries would be gradually wound down in Canada and wiped out. Of course, we’re not going to accept those terms,” he said.
Amid the bickering between Canada and the United States, Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard met US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday (August 2) as the Claudia Sheinbaum administration pushed for progress on US tariffs on cars and steel, a key source of friction in the countries’ trade relationship.
Sheinbaum said in her daily morning press conference that Ebrard was in the United States seeking agreements on the tariffs, while Mexico’s economy ministry added that he and Lutnick also discussed bilateral trade and regional technological innovation.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of a G20 innovation gathering in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, which Lutnick was hosting as part of the US-led ministerial.
Mexico and the United States have continued their negotiations tied to the review of the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement, amid the uncertainty over the trilateral pact’s future due to the ongoing clash between North America’s two largest economies.
Mexico, for its part, has argued that US tariffs on steel and aluminium are unjustified, apart from objecting to measures affecting automobiles, saying they run against the spirit of North America’s tightly integrated manufacturing supply chains.