Trump says Canada wants trade deal ‘very badly’, claims agreement could come ‘fairly soon’

DUBLIN, IRELAND: President Donald Trump said on Saturday, September 12, that Canada is now eager to reach a new trade agreement with the United States and suggested that a deal could be reached “fairly soon.”

Speaking to reporters in Dublin after meeting Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, Trump again criticized Canadian tariffs on US farmers and said Ottawa needed to offer better treatment to Americans.

The president’s comments about a potential deal came just weeks after the latest round of US-Canada trade talks broke down and Washington imposed additional tariffs on Canadian imports.

Trump says Canada seeks new US trade deal soon

Trump said Canada was seeking a new agreement with the United States as the two countries remain at odds over tariffs and trade terms. “Canada wants to make a deal very badly,” Trump said while answering questions from reporters after his meeting with Martin.

Trump specifically raised the issue of Canadian tariffs affecting American farmers and said agricultural products should receive better treatment under any new agreement.

“Canada has to treat our farmers better. They can't charge our farmers tariffs, they've been charging our farmers 400% tariffs” Trump said. “You'll probably see a deal with Canada fairly soon.”

Trump also compared the US relationship with Canada with the country’s relationship with Mexico, saying Washington expected to maintain strong economic ties with both neighbors.

“We’re going to have a great relationship with Mexico. We actually have a good one with Canada, but the United States has been ripped off for 50 years by Canada,” Trump said.

Trump then argued that the trade relationship was heavily dependent on the United States, saying Canada needed access to the American market.

“We don’t need their product, and they need our product. They do all of their business almost with us, and we do very little with them,” he said.

The comments signal a potentially more conciliatory phase in US-Canada trade relations, although Trump did not provide details about what terms would be required for a new agreement.

US-Canada trade talks collapse amid escalating tariffs

The last formal trade negotiations on August 21 between the two countries collapsed after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended the talks and recalled Canada’s negotiating delegation.

The breakdown in talks was followed by Trump’s announcement of 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian imports. Canada responded with matching tariffs and other measures targeting US goods.

The negotiations had appeared to be making progress earlier in the week before the final breakdown.

Canadian officials continued discussions with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement before the deadline. 

Carney said there had been “important progress” but that it was “not enough to meet our objectives for Canadians.” “As a result, this evening, I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the US and have directed Canada’s negotiators to return to Ottawa,” Carney said.

The Canadian leader also objected to changes introduced by Washington during the final stage of negotiations, saying, “Last-minute changes in the US proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.”