by Ben Whedon
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer argued Tuesday that Canada’s failure to secure a trade agreement with the United States represented a greater economic threat to Ottawa than Washington.
Trade talks collapsed earlier this month, leading to a public spat between Ontario Premier Doug Ford and President Donald Trump. In a symbolic rebuke of the Canadian government, Trump formally renamed Lake Ontario to “Lake America” via executive order.
Speaking to Politico, Greer largely brushed off the economic consequences of the failure to reach a deal, saying “It’s more their emergency than ours.”
He further confirmed that “there are no negotiations happening on trade right now.”
Trump earlier this month invoked Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act to impose a 50% tax on $20 billion worth of Canadian imports. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, in turn, imposed roughly $20 billion worth of tariffs on U.S. that are set to take effect Sept. 8.
Carney on Tuesday told the Trump administration: “Stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough.
Despite securing trade deals with many American trading partners in the aftermath of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs in 2025, the U.S. has not reached agreements with its two immediate neighbors of Canada and Mexico.
Earlier this week on Truth Social, Trump said America’s automotive industry has been revived by tariffs he has imposed. He added that one of “worst abusers” of America has been Canada.
“I don’t want Canadian cars, I don’t want Canadian parts, I don’t want Canadian anything. They’ve been ripping us off for decades, and it’s going to stop. This should have happened long ago with other Presidents, just as stopping Iran should have happened long ago. They want to be treated like a State, but they aren’t one. I deal with the Leadership of many Countries, but I find Canada to be the worst. They are entitled no longer!” he said.
– – –
Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
