While Iran was being threatened by Donald Trump with economic D-Day, Canada was being threatened with a political D-Day. While a dispute over tariffs appeared to cause the breakdown in negotiations, Prime Minister Mark Carney suggested something else was responsible.
“Last-minute changes in the U.S.-proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic and called into question the reliability of any deal,” Carney said. He’s right. U.S. negotiators introduced demands unrelated to tariffs—demands that cut deeply into Canadian sovereignty.
U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer blamed Canada for walking away from a deal. Carney promised U.S. tariffs would be met “dollar for dollar,” and Trump countered with 50% tariffs on Canadian autos, trucks and steel. But Carney may have the last word: “The attitude, at the negotiation table, that Canada is a subsidiary of the United States—that’s not something we’re going to accept.”
With the breakdown came a raft of Canadian charges about U.S. demands. The U.S. tried to dissuade Canada from shifting trade to other countries, such as China, and sought to dictate Canada’s steel tariffs. “We are the partners of choice for countries around the world, and the Americans wanted to restrict that—unacceptable,” Carney said.
U.S. negotiators insisted that French not be used exclusively on Canadian products sold in Canada, including films and online content. They sought favorable treatment for Canadian-made auto parts used in Michigan but not Ontario; an end to “Buy Canadian” practices and the ban on U.S.-made liquor; and tariff concessions in exchange for access to critical minerals, oil exports, F-35 fighters and Golden Dome missile defense.
In the background lay the USMCA agreement, which Trump says the U.S. will not renew. His strategy was to lock Canada into agreements before USMCA renegotiations. The Canadians would not consent to blackmail.
Canada will suffer for defying Trump. But Carney’s insistence on protecting sovereignty is just. “Last spring, I warned that America is trying to break us so that they can own us,” he told reporters. “And I promised: ‘That will never, ever happen.’ We are keeping that promise.”
Both countries will suffer from this trade war. Americans’ costs will rise; Canadians will lose customers, investment and small businesses. Don’t tell Donald Trump that. He’s fixated on statehood for Canada.
Mel Gurtov, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is professor emeritus of political science at Portland State University.
