Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney courageously stands up against Donald Trump but Senator Susan Collins gives a "concerned" speech

The New York Times echo report about failed negotiations with Canada about Trump tariffs.  

On Friday night (August 21), Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada did something that few other world leaders before him have dared to do.

After days of intense trade negotiations with the United States, with less than an hour to go on a midnight deadline for a new round of tariffs from the Trump administration, Mr. Carney instructed his negotiators to walk away.

Then, he announced that once 50 percent tariffs came into effect on 💲20 billion worth of Canadian goods, he would order retaliatory tariffs on the United States “dollar for dollar.”

Then on Saturday, in a lengthy televised address to Canadians, Mr. Carney brought fighting words to Canada’s act of defiance.

“Last spring, I warned that America is trying to break us so that they can own us. And I promised: “That will never, ever happen.” We are keeping that promise,” Mr. Carney said somberly, before reporters in Ottawa.

“Canada is becoming stronger and less dependent on America. We are already giving ourselves more than they can take away. And we are just getting started,” he added.

By walking away, Mr. Carney chose a road that no major U.S. ally has taken: With his country’s economy on the line, he stood up to  Trump and refused to accept the administration’s offer of a new trade relationship with tariffs permanently baked in. 

Britain, the European Union and other major U.S. trading partners have agreed to smaller deals that have been volatile and often left them worse off.

The collapse of the talks came after Trump declared that the deal was practically done. 🤥😡

Mr. Carney never echoed that. Over the week, as negotiators spent long hours in Washington huddled in the office of the U.S. trade representative, Mr. Carney appeared optimistic but insisted that there was still work to be done.

Each side now claims that the other introduced new or unreasonable demands at the last minute — the kind of finger-pointing that is common when trade talks fall apart.

On Saturday, August 22, Mr. Carney mentioned in some detail a number of what he described as last-minute curveballs presented by the United States, as talks were supposedly near the finish line. 

Those included, he said, a demand that Canada comply with U.S. tariffs on its trade with other countries.

“We are the partners of choice for countries around the world and the Americans wanted to restrict that — unacceptable,” he said.

Make no mistake, Mr. Carney has a lot to lose.

Canada, which is closely integrated with the United States and relies on it for defense, is heavily dependent on trade with its superpower neighbor. Mr. Carney acknowledged on Saturday the cost of his choice for many Canadians and said his government would do “whatever it takes” to support businesses and workers impacted by the U.S. tariffs, as well as those impacted by the retaliatory tariffs Canada will take out against U.S. goods on Sept. 8.

It will also be costly for U.S. residents, who are paying for Trump’s tariff policies through higher prices that have also been driven by the war in Iran and spiraling oil costs.

But Mr. Carney appeared resolved to shoulder the costs of his decision. And he has risked Trump’s ire before.

In a speech in Davos, Switzerland, in January, he described a new era in which the United States was no longer a guarantor of stability and where middle powers like Canada have to unite to survive. The speech — and its enthusiastic global reception — angered  Trump.

Trump is also been riled by Mr. Carney’s outreach to China, which led to a narrow but significant trade agreement this year; by Canadian provinces’ persistence on banning the sale of U.S. liquor; and by the Carney government’s retaliatory measures against the United States for its broad, devastating tariffs on core Canadian industries.

Ever since Mr. Carney rose to lead Canada last year, he put in motion a plan to help his country survive Trump’s (disaster) presidency and, in the long run, thrive apart from the United States. 

One of his favorite lines is, “nostalgia is not a policy,” and he has told everyone who will listen that there is no going back to the old relationship with the United States — a close and familial, if lopsided, bond.

Instead, Mr. Carney is traveling to secure new partnerships in Asia and Europe, a generational shift away from economic dependence on the United States, although that is unlikely to bear fruit fast enough to cushion the blow of the breakdown of the two countries’ relationship.

It’s likely that Trump will not take kindly to Mr. Carney’s trade decision. Just before beginning his second term, Trump said he was willing to inflict “economic pain” on Canada to get what he wanted. He has repeatedly expressed a desire to make Canada the 51st state, describing it as little more than a vassal that “lives because of the United States.”

But, Canada's Mr. Carney’s vision, with a surprising assist from Trump’s needling, ignited a wave of Canadian patriotism. 

Going into the trade talks, more than half of Canadians — many more than those who voted for Mr. Carney — said they wanted him to give nothing away.

Several premiers of different political stripes expressed their support for Mr. Carney after his decision. Doug Ford, a conservative who leads Ontario, cheered him on. 

David Eby, the progressive premier of British Columbia, said, “We didn’t ask for this, but we’ll keep fighting for as long as it takes.”

There is little doubt that Mr. Carney will be cheered, at home and abroad, for doing what he thought was best for his country.

“We take this step confident that it is in the best interests of Canada,” he said. “And that, by rejecting a bad deal, standing up for Canada, and focusing on what we can control, we are building a Canada strong for all.”

Check out the transcript of Prime Minister Carney's courageous speech to the Canadians at this link here. (IMO Prime Minister Mark Carney is the 21st century's new Winston Churchill❗

Check the Senator Susan Collins "concerned" 😒😔😦speech about the tariffs, at this social media page here.