Washington, DC [US], October 6 : United States President Donald Trump stated on Monday that he holds no urgency regarding the resumption of trade talks with Canada, whilst levelling accusations that the northern neighbour has mistreated the United States and stipulating that any future pact necessitates Ottawa to be "honest" with Washington.
President Trump delivered these comments when questioned by reporters concerning whether trade negotiations with Canada would recommence prior to the United States midterm elections.
Before departing aboard Marine One, President Trump stated, “I don't know. Canada behaves very badly with the United States and I don't know."
He further remarked, “We caught them in the act; they charged us a lot of tariffs that nobody knew about except me. And it will work out eventually, but I don't know about -- I'm in no rush."
President Trump provided no timeline regarding the restart of trade negotiations and refrained from identifying the specific Canadian tariffs he mentioned.
His observations suggested he does not consider an early resumption of trade negotiations alongside Ottawa as an urgent priority, despite expressing confidence that the ongoing trade dispute would ultimately reach a resolution.
The US President underscored the perceived imbalance characterising the commercial relationship binding the two nations.
President Trump noted, “You know, Canada does all their business with us, we do very little business with them."
He added, “And all we ask of one thing in Canada, they have to be honest. They are not honest with the United States; they've been ripping us off for years."
During the press exchange, President Trump brought forward no supporting figures or concrete examples to substantiate this allegation.
These remarks ranked amongst the most acute foreign economic policy statements delivered during his extensive interaction with reporters prior to departure.
The President omitted mentioning whether his administration currently maintains engagement with Canadian officials through alternative channels or what specific conditions must be fulfilled prior to formal trade negotiations restarting.
Additionally, he refrained from clarifying whether his allusion to resuming trade talks before the midterm elections served as a formal exclusion of negotiations throughout that timeframe, choosing instead to reiterate throughout his responses that he harbours no haste in reviving the process.