US Official Warns: Canada Cannot Win a Trade War

By Staff, Agencies

The United States has warned Canada that it would be unable to win a trade war with Washington, as tensions over tariffs and stalled trade negotiations continue to intensify.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy made the remarks Sunday after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Saturday that Canada had been attacked by the US, arguing that being attacked meant the two countries were effectively at war.

“To think that they're going to go to war with Donald Trump and actually win that war with the US, I think it's foolish on their part,” Duffy told Fox News.

Moreover, Duffy predicted that a trade war would have devastating consequences for Canada and suggested that Carney would eventually return to negotiations. He argued that Canada benefits far more from trade with the US than Washington benefits from trade with Canada.

The remarks came as Washington and Ottawa remain locked in an escalating dispute over tariffs and the future of their trade relationship.

Previously, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer claimed that Canada had refused to finalize a trade agreement with Washington. According to the US official, tariffs on several Canadian goods took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on August 22.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump accused Canada of seeking “the benefits of being a State, without being one” after trade talks between Washington and Ottawa collapsed late Friday, triggering new 50% US tariffs on a range of Canadian products.

Trump also accused US farmers of having paid “massive amounts of Tariffs” for years. In response, Carney described the latest US tariffs as a “miscalculation” aimed at “hurting and dividing” Canada.

Carney said Ottawa would respond to the US measures “dollar-for-dollar” beginning September 8, imposing counter-levies on steel, dairy products, appliances and electronics, while declaring that the two countries were now engaged in a “trade war.”