Carney says Trump agreed to ’intensify’ trade talks after 50% tariff threat

PM says provinces will decide when U.S. booze returns to Canadian shelves

Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday after his latest trade action against Canada.

Photo: The Canadian Press / Nicole Osborne

Peter Zimonjic (new window) · CBC News

Prime Minister Mark Carney says he's spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump after Monday's tariffs announcement and the two leaders have agreed to ramp up trade discussions in the wake of the latest threat from our southern neighbours.

I spoke with President Trump earlier this morning. We agreed to intensify negotiations in the coming weeks and the team and myself look forward to doing that, Carney said.

The prime minister said that intensification will happen right away but he did not provide insight into the specifics of how his government will respond.

We will look at all options in terms of how we would respond if [the new tariffs] do come into effect. That's part of what we will be discussing with premiers, he said.

WATCH | Carney on U.S. booze bans:

Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said he loves Canada and its people but it has been very, very tough on the U.S. for decades.

I mean, in all fairness to them, they need us to survive. Without us, there's no way they can survive, Trump said. They've been very, very tough over a period of the last 50 years, actually.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre issued a statement describing the new tariffs as unjustified and wrong and offered to work with the federal government.

All parties must work together to prevent the tariffs from happening. Conservatives are here to help and fight for Canada, Poilievre said.

On Monday evening, Trump announced that his administration will be imposing tariffs of 50 per cent on a wide range of Canadian exports in 30 days' time.

The new tariffs are being imposed in response to what a senior administration official described as Canada's retaliation against U.S. trade policy and its discrimination against U.S. motor vehicles, dairy and alcohol.

The White House provided details, in three presidential proclamations (new window), for why each of those trade irritants are considered discriminatory to the U.S.

The alcohol boycotts, where every province save Alberta and Saskatchewan has banned the sale of U.S. beer, wine and spirits, were imposed after Trump slapped earlier tariffs on the auto sector, steel, aluminum, softwood lumber and other products.

According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, the alcohol bans have resulted in a $360-million US drop in wine exports to Canada in 2025 from the previous year, along with a $150-million US drop in spirit exports.

The Canadian provinces and territories have not instituted or maintained similar bans or restrictions on any other country since March 2025, thereby benefitting other countries at the expense of the United States, the proclamation on alcohol said.

Carney said the decision to remove U.S. booze from Canadian shelves was taken by the provinces in retaliation for the U.S. tariffs on key industries in their provinces, as well as threats to Canada's sovereignty in general.

The decision to change that, first and foremost, will be taken by the provinces themselves, each individually, and should only be taken, in my view, as part of an overall agreement. And that's what we'll work to accomplish, he said.

While Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said he expects the provinces with alcohol bans will soon relent, B.C. Premier David Eby said Tuesday (new window) that there is not a chance in hell that U.S. alcohol is going back on the shelf in his province.

The one way to embolden a bully is to capitulate. And I don't think we should embolden Mr. Trump, who clearly is a bully, he said.

An overall agreement or no agreement

Carney said his government is pursuing an overall trade agreement with the Trump administration rather than settling trade disputes on the CUSMA file while leaving critical sectors like steel, aluminum, lumber and the auto industry saddled with tariffs.

In our view and the view of [Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum] and the Mexican authorities, there are solutions that evolve CUSMA so that those sectors are globally competitive to the benefit of workers, Carney said.

WATCH | B.C. premier says U.S. booze staying off shelves:

In a statement issued Monday evening, Carney said the U.S. was the first to impose tariffs in violation of CUSMA and Canada, as is its right, has merely matched those measures.

He said that provinces, territories and Canadians from coast to coast to coast have stood together in response to those tariffs and threats to Canadian sovereignty.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC that Carney's statement was firm but moderate and talks are ongoing.

I'm going to keep talking to my counterparts in Canada, Greer said. They haven't cut off talks. So we're going to keep discussing with them.

Peter Zimonjic is a senior writer for CBC News who reports for digital, radio and television. He has worked as a reporter and columnist in London, England, for the Telegraph, Times and Daily Mail, and in Canada for the Ottawa Citizen, Torstar and Sun Media. He is the author of Into The Darkness: An Account of 7/7, published by Vintage.