Trump Refuses to Meet Canadian PM Carney Amid Trade Tensions and Tariff Dispute

Trump Won't Meet Canada PM "For A While" As Carney Offers To Resume Talks

Mark Carney has expressed readiness to restart discussions with Trump amid the ongoing diplomatic tension.

US President Donald Trump declared on Monday that he would not be meeting with Canada "for a while," even as Prime Minister Mark Carney extended an invitation to resume trade negotiations.

Trump recently announced plans to increase tariffs on Canadian products by an additional 10 percent and halted all trade discussions following what he described as a "fake" anti-tariff advertisement featuring former president Ronald Reagan.

When questioned about potentially meeting with Carney at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Trump told journalists aboard Air Force One: "I don't want to meet with him, no."

"I'm not going to be meeting with him for a while... One of the most difficult countries to deal with has been Canada, as much as I love Canada itself and the people of Canada," Trump further stated.

The US president did not specify when the proposed tariff increase would take effect.

Speaking from the sidelines of a regional summit in Malaysia on Monday, Carney indicated his willingness to reopen dialogue with Trump following the disagreement.

"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.

Carney mentioned that he had not had any interaction with the US president in Kuala Lumpur.

However, he added that he had arranged to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, as both leaders are expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea on Wednesday.

Carney indicated that discussions with Xi would cover their "commercial relationship, as well as the evolution of the global system".

Trump's broad sectoral tariffs — particularly those on steel, aluminum, and automobiles — have significantly impacted Canada, resulting in job losses and putting pressure on businesses.

"We had made considerable progress on a supplement to the trading relationship that we had," Carney noted, referring to US trade discussions, including "considerable progress in the areas of steel, aluminum, and energy-associated areas as well".

The advertisement from the Canadian province of Ontario utilized quotes from a 1987 radio address on trade delivered by Reagan, in which he cautioned against the potential consequences of high import tariffs on the US economy.

It quoted the Republican icon as saying "high tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars." The quotation matches a transcript of his speech available on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library's website.

The Ronald Reagan Foundation posted on X on Thursday that the Ontario government had used "selective audio and video" and that it was considering legal options.

Ontario announced it would withdraw the controversial anti-tariff advertisement on Monday to facilitate the resumption of negotiations.