Carney Says US Deal Possible, Blow-Up Helped Clarify ‘Red Lines’

(Bloomberg) -- The dramatic collapse of trade talks with the US in August helped clarify Canada's negotiating "red lines," said Prime Minister Mark Carney, who added he's ready to get back to the table for the right deal.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, he was asked whether it's a question of who moves first to get negotiations restarted.

"There's not a pride thing from our perspective," he said. "We're practical people that know what our bottom lines are, what our red lines are for sovereignty, for culture, not being restricted on our ability to sign other trade deals."

The prime minister added: "I think our American colleagues maybe, perhaps, understand those red lines a little more clearly now, given what's happened. We're ready to sit down."

But Canada is "not going to slow down" on its efforts to expand trade with other countries, said Carney, who has invited the world's leading money managers to Toronto this week for the inaugural Canada Investment Summit — a bid to pull in more foreign direct investment. As soon as it ends, he'll fly to France for talks on deepening Canada's relationship with the European Union.

Top-level discussions between the US and Canada fell apart on Aug. 21 over a deal that would have reduced US tariffs on core Canadian sectors like steel and automotive, while eliminating a number of Canadian trade restrictions.

The next day, President Donald Trump's administration implemented 50% tariffs against about $20 billion of Canadian exports. Canada has retaliated with counter-tariffs hitting the same total dollar value of US exports.

Both sides blamed each other for the blow-up and claimed each had made last-minute demands. Carney said the US wanted to infringe on Canadian cultural protections around the French language and restrict Canada's ability to sign other trade deals.

Despite this, on Saturday, Trump said a deal with Canada could come "fairly soon," without elaborating.

Carney said he welcomed those comments and added Canada's ready to sit down for a deal that respects each side's sovereignty and Canada's cultural institutions.

"We'll sit down when it makes sense. Canada and the US have a very long relationship. We sometimes go through periods where there are tensions in that relationship. Provided we continue this approach, we'll come to some some agreement at some point."