PM Mark Carney says Canada has made proposals to resolve dispute as tariffs are due to be imposed on wide range of goods Sign up for US Breaking News email Lebanese president Josep…

Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has said that Ottawa is ready to deepen trade talks with the United States, after US president Donald Trump ordered fresh tariffs targeting Canada. “This is the latest in a series of unilateral US trade actions that began with the US imposing a series of tariffs in direct violation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement,” Carney said of Trump’s plan for 50% duties on many Canadian products. He added that Canada has made proposals to resolve disputes as Washington transformed its trade ties, and is “ready to intensify those discussions.” Trump’s tariffs will hit a wide range of products, the White House said, including wine, hockey sticks and cement. They also include goods previously protected from import taxes under the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement. The new tariffs will exclude energy products, fish, critical minerals and potash. They also exclude products already subject to tariffs aimed at protecting national security, such as steel and aluminum. The White House said the tariffs will go into effect in 30 days, leaving time for possible negotiations between the two countries. Trump signed three proclamations to launch the tariffs under Section 338 of the 1930 Trade Act. Several Democratic lawmakers last year proposed repealing the section because they said Trump could use it to destabilize the economy. A White House fact sheet claims Trump is “taking action to hold Canada accountable for its continued discrimination against and unreasonable and unequal treatment of U.S. commerce that has burdened and disadvantaged hardworking Americans”. Trump claims in the proclamations that Canada discriminates against American automobiles, alcohol and cheese relative to other nations, but his argument rests in large part on retaliatory actions taken by Canada after the US president imposed tariffs on Canada under the pretext that it should do more to stop fentanyl smuggling into the US.