The Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, accused the United States on Monday of violating the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC) following the announcement by the Administration of his counterpart, Donald Trump, to impose a new 50% tariff on a significant number of Canadian products, and assured that his Government will intensify talks to resolve the trade dispute.

“This is the latest in a series of unilateral trade actions by the United States that began with the imposition of a series of tariffs in direct violation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA),” Carney said in a statement, adding that the levies on the Canadian automotive sector also contravene the free trade agreement.

The president maintained that Canada “has simply matched those measures” in response.

Carney also assured that "Canada has presented a series of detailed and comprehensive proposals to resolve this dispute and modernize CUSMA. We are prepared to intensify those conversations in the coming weeks," while defending the benefits of free trade and warning that the dispute has raised costs for families, especially in the United States.

The prime minister concluded that Canada will continue to take the measures it deems necessary to protect its workers, farmers, businesses and families, while reiterating his Government's willingness to negotiate with Washington to resolve trade differences for the mutual benefit of both countries.

The new tariffs on Canada come after the Republican president accused the Canadian government of not properly managing its forests and maintained that the smoke from these fires has deteriorated air quality in the United States, with an "incalculable" cost.

The forest fires recorded this summer in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario generated extensive columns of smoke that reached several states in the northern United States, affecting air quality and causing health alerts in cities in the Midwest and northeast of the country.

However, the White House justified the decision by stating that Canada maintains trade practices that it considers "harmful" to the United States, including restrictions on access to American dairy products, high tariffs on certain agricultural goods and taxes on digital services, in addition to having responded with retaliation to previous trade measures adopted by Washington.

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