Ottawa, Canada – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said President Donald Trump's latest tariff attack is "not a surprise" and insisted Canada has a "strong" system for cracking down on forced labor.
"This is not a surprise, this is something that the US has been planning for a few months," Carney told reporters on Parliament Hill on Wednesday.
His comments came in response to questions about a 10% tariff proposed by the office of US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer on Tuesday over alleged failures to crack down on forced labor.
The USTR had listed dozens of countries in its report, including not only Canada, but the European Union, the UK, and more. All will face potentially punishing tariffs, in some cases up to 12.5%, with only limited exemptions.
All products currently protected by the North American Free Trade Agreement and the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will be exempt from the levy, however, easing pressure somewhat on Canada and Mexico.
"I think very importantly is that, two things, one is that the tariffs are consulted for 30 days, for 30-plus days," Carney said. "Secondly, explicitly in the decision, the carve-out for [USMCA] is referenced and maintained."
"That puts us in a position where, again, we would still have the best trade deal of any of the US trade counterparts," he said.
Canada seeks to decrease reliance on US
Trump's latest tariff threats come as Canada continues to pivot away from its reliance on the US for trade and defense, largely driven by the unpredictable foreign policy coming from Washington.
"The motivation of the US action, the 301 tariffs against, or proposed tariffs against a variety of countries, is something we share," Carney continued.
"Canada has a very strong legislative regime against forced labor in supply chains, we don't want any element of forced labor coming in."