Mark Carney: Canada-U.S. Trade Talks Advance, Auto Industry Remains a Core Issue

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Saturday that trade talks between Canada and the United States were making progress, with the auto industry among the central issues. According to Sina Finance, Carney said he had spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and other officials shortly before leaving for a three-day ASEAN summit in Manila. He said Canada would not accept an agreement that undermined the viability of its auto industry, and that no deal had been reached. Carney said Canada’s auto manufacturing industry was important to the United States, whose auto sector partly depends on deep integration between the two countries. Canada withdrew from trade talks with the United States in August this year after Carney said the Trump administration had made unacceptable demands at the last minute. The United States then imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian exports; Canada responded with retaliatory tariffs, with officials pledging to match U.S. tariffs dollar for dollar. Speaking ahead of the summit, which Trump is also expected to attend, Carney announced cooperation agreements with ASEAN and the Philippines aimed at reducing Canada’s trade dependence on the United States. He said Canada’s goal of doubling exports to markets outside the United States within 10 years was already ahead of schedule. Nearly one-third of Canada’s export revenue now comes from markets outside the United States, a 40-year high.