Canadian PM says US-proposed tariffs violate trilateral trade deal

OTTAWA - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday that the US administration's announced intention to impose a new 50 percent tariff on a broad range of Canadian goods is "the latest in a series of unilateral US trade actions in direct violation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA)."

In a statement, Carney said that the United States has been "transforming all of its trade relationships, including those covered under CUSMA, over the past 18 months," and Canada has made a series of detailed and comprehensive proposals to resolve the dispute and modernize the CUSMA.

"We stand ready to intensify those discussions in the coming weeks," said Carney.

The prime minister said that Canada believes in the benefits of free and fair trade and that the trade dispute has raised costs for families, particularly in the United States.

He voiced Canada's readiness to engage intensively to address "outstanding issues with the United States to the mutual benefit of our citizens."