North American trade strains have sharpened as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney refuted allegations of diluting his World Economic Forum speech in a phone chat with U.S. President Donald Trump.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed on Fox News’ Hannity on Monday that Carney was “very aggressively walking back” elements of his Davos remarks during the call.
Carney’s Davos address spotlighted a “rupture” in the post-war world order, implicitly rebuking superpower dominance under Trump’s trade barriers.
Trump replied next day at Davos. “Canada lives because of the United States,” he stated.
In Ottawa on Tuesday, Carney stood firm. “To be absolutely clear, and I said this to the president, I meant what I said in Davos,” he told reporters, noting Trump initiated the Monday discussion that covered Ukraine, Venezuela, Arctic security and Canada’s new China trade pact.
They discussed the USMCA, due for mandatory review from July 2026 to decide its 16-year extension.
Carney said his speech showed how “Canada was the first country to understand the change in U.S. trade policy that (Trump) had initiated, and we’re responding to that,” with Trump grasping Ottawa’s stance.
In Parliament, he said the review starts soon. In French: “The world has changed. Washington has changed. There’s almost nothing normal in the United States. That’s the truth.”
Bessent attacked the Canada-China deal cutting canola tariffs from 84% to 15% by March and easing Chinese EV import duties to 6.1% for 49,000 vehicles yearly.
“Canada depends on the U.S.,” Bessent said. “There’s much more north-south trade then there could ever be east-west trade.”
“The prime minister should do what’s best for the Canadian people rather than try to push his globalist agenda,” he added.
This came after Trump’s 100% tariff threat on Canadian goods aiding Chinese imports to dodge U.S. levies. Carney called it negotiation tactics by “a strong negotiator.”
“The president is a strong negotiator, and I think some of these comments and positioning should be viewed in the broader context of that.”
Canada seeks no full free-trade deal with China, Carney affirmed, and has “never” considered one.