Mark Carney: Canada Won’t Rush U.S. Trade Deal as Trump Still Targets Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would not rush into a trade deal with the United States if its terms were not in Canada’s best interests, and predicted that U.S. President Donald Trump would continue targeting Canada after the midterm elections. According to Sina Finance, Carney said he would not sign an agreement he considered bad, even if that meant waiting for a new U.S. president to take office. Carney said the two countries could reach an agreement quickly, but Canada would not sign merely for the sake of signing. Asked whether he would wait for the next U.S. administration, he said he would if circumstances required it. In a separate interview, Carney said he did not expect Tuesday’s U.S. election results to significantly change Trump’s trade policy. He said agreements reached by the current U.S. administration with any country include tariffs, and that the question was how high they would be. Polls indicate Democrats are likely to win the House of Representatives, while control of the Senate remains uncertain. Races in Michigan, Maine, Alaska, and other states are extremely close. The U.S.-Canada tariff dispute has become a campaign issue in some border states. Trump agreed to adjust some tariffs on Canadian goods to help Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins retain her seat, which she has held for nearly three decades; her campaign is facing a difficult contest. Carney made the remarks as the Canadian government holds a summit with European Union officials in Montreal.