The Canadian Prime Minister says he’s No Hurry to capitulate to the American President’s efforts to bulldozer the United States northern neighbor in Trade….
Mark Carney says he’ll wait for next US President if he has to…..
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday that if his government could not successfully negotiate a suitable trade pact with the Trump administration, he was prepared to wait for a new American president to close the deal.
In an interview with POLITICO in Montreal, Carney also said Canadians were fed up with diplomatic provocations from the United States and described President Donald Trump’s wavering policy toward the Russia-Ukraine war as “unhelpful.”
Carney’s remarks, made upon the conclusion of a summit with European Union officials, represent the most direct brushback to Washington in months from a leader who has calibrated his public comments on the United States amid sensitive trade talks.
Trade negotiations between the United States and Canada have proceeded at a halting pace since Canada walked away from negotiations in August, with new tariffs imposed this fall by both sides. Carney on Friday reiterated his insistence that he would not strike a deal “just for the sake of it.” Asked whether that meant he would hold out for a new if necessary, the prime minister answered in the affirmative.
“We’ll have to, if that’s what it takes,” Carney told POLITICO, adding: “And American families, American businesses, will also lose out because of that. They’re not winners in this circumstance.”…
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The political stakes around the trade standoff have continued to rise in the United States, where voters upset about the cost of energy and consumer goods are preparing to deliver a judgment on the Trump administration in midterm elections on Tuesday. Several of the most important electoral contests are taking place in border states especially sensitive to Canadian trade relations, including Michigan and Maine.
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Carney, who recently received four Brooks Brothers shirts as a gift from Trump, said he had not yet worn any of them but was prepared to do so in the event the countries reach terms.
“I haven’t had occasion to put on the shirts, because we don’t have a mutually advantageous trade deal,” he said.
For the moment, Carney added, “They’re sitting in my closet.”….
Note…
Get the typical negotiating part about Trump sending the shirts?
image…Britannia
Price of Drugs From Canada Set to Soar for Millions
“Millions of Americans who buy cheap drugs from Canada could soon lose access when a customs rule goes into effect later this month, a change that has sparked opposition from Democrats and some Republicans with the cost of living a top issue for voters ahead of midterm elections,” the Associated Press reports.
“The rule applies to a swath of goods beyond drugs and is intended to collect tariffs and prevent illegal drugs from coming into the U.S. It comes as President Donald Trump has made lowering drug prices a top target in addressing soaring healthcare costs, and critics say the rule will hurt patients seeking affordable medicine.”