Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday said he is “ready to sit down” with US President Donald Trump to resume trade negotiations, despite Washington’s decision to hike tariffs on Canadian goods by an additional 10%.”We stand ready to sit down with the United States, myself with the president, my colleagues with their colleagues, when the US is ready to sit down,” Carney told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, where he was attending the Asean summit.These remarks come after Trump imposed an additional 10% tariff on Canadian imports, calling it a “hostile act” following a TV ad aired by Ontario’s government that used the late US President Ronald Reagan’s voice to criticise tariffs.Trump and Carney are both expected to attend the APEC dinner, though the US president said he has no plans for a meeting with Canadian PM. Carney also confirmed plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming APEC summit in South Korea to discuss trade ties and “the evolution of the global system.””We had made considerable progress on a supplement to the trading relationship that we had,” Carney said, referring to earlier discussions on steel, aluminium, and energy, AFP reported. Trump’s latest move adds to a growing list of tariffs on Canadian goods, including 50% on steel and aluminium, 25% on cars, and 45% on softwood lumber — measures that have strained key Canadian industries.Earlier, last week Trump said that he had “terminated all trade talks with Canada” following a controversial television advertisement. Trump had accused Ottawa of trying to “influence American courts” and called the ad campaign “egregious behavior.” “The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs,” he said in a post on Truth Social.”Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump added. The Ronald Reagan Foundation later denounced the ad as “a misrepresentation” and said it was reviewing legal action.
