WASHINGTON — President Trump on Sunday called Canadians "foolish" for engaging in a trade war he said they cannot win, escalating a weekend rhetorical barrage that included reviving his "51st state" threat, as Prime Minister Mark Carney disclosed that Washington's collapsed offer had demanded curbs on Canada's ability to strike new trade deals with other countries.
The weekend statements followed Saturday's imposition of 50 percent U.S. tariffs on about $20 billion of Canadian goods and Ottawa's pledge, detailed the same day, to retaliate dollar-for-dollar on Sept. 8. They filled in the sharpest missing piece of Friday night's breakdown — the sovereignty condition Canadian premiers said no Ottawa government could accept — and hardened political positions on both sides of the border.
What sank the deal
Carney, briefing reporters Saturday, said the U.S. proposal included "curbing Canada's ability to strike new trade deals with other countries," a condition he called unacceptable. "They asked too much and they offered too little," the prime minister said, disputing U.S. suggestions that Canada had walked back terms in the final hours. "We clarified what was on offer and were continually disappointed by the answers," he said.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said the demand "would reduce us to the economic equivalent of the 51st state." "It was never acceptable to Canadians," Eby said.
Trump's weekend
Trump revived the sovereignty theme early Sunday in a Truth Social post that said Canada wanted "the benefits of being a state, without being one," and that "our great farmers" had been charged "massive amounts of Tariffs" for years. Hours later on Fox News, the president called Canadians "foolish" to engage in a trade war with the United States and think they will "actually win."
What Washington offered
On Fox News on Saturday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said there were "no new planned talks with the Canadians" and disclosed that Washington had been prepared to lower some existing U.S. tariffs — on steel, on autos, "even lumber" — as part of the ill-fated deal. "We've been offering to bring the Canadians along on that path," Greer told the network, adding that Canada had "always had the best deal." Carney countered that Ottawa in turn had been willing to drop its remaining retaliatory tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos and to encourage provinces to restore U.S. alcohol sales in return for substantial American cuts.
Ottawa's political line
Political backing in Canada crossed party lines. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who leads the country's most populous province, said Trump "can't be trusted." Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre called the new U.S. levies "unjustified." Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette said jobs would likely be lost. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, whose oil-producing province has cultivated ties with the Trump administration, stood alone in urging both sides to resume talks.
The counterpoint
The administration cast the collapse as Canada's doing. A senior Trump administration official told reporters that Canada had sought concessions on steel, aluminum, autos and lumber tariffs that Washington was unwilling to make. Greer said Canada made "new demands and walk backs" on terms previously agreed. No right-leaning outlet appeared among the wire and center-left reports available for this account; the White House's Sunday case rests on Trump's own posts and interview remarks rather than on independent conservative coverage.
Canada's countermeasures — targeting U.S. steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics — take effect Sept. 8, the Tuesday after Labor Day. The two countries are also midway through a mandatory review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Trump signed in his first term to replace NAFTA and which underpins $1.6 trillion in annual trilateral trade. Asked Saturday how Friday's rupture would affect that review, Carney said it was "certainly not good news."