US Treasury chief Bessent warns Canada on trade fights, slams EU-India deal
Official urges calm from Ottawa ahead of trade talks, says EU put trade ahead of Ukraine by easing pressure on India over Russian oil
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that the US and Canada were likely to end up in a “good place” on trade but warned Washington’s northern neighbour not to launch a political fight in advance of coming talks on the US-Mexico-Canada free trade deal.
As long-standing US trading partners have been buffeted by Trump’s quick policy turnarounds and shifting tariff regime, many have turned to China and each other, increasingly looking at agreements that reduce reliance on Washington.
The administration has grown frustrated that deals cobbled together under extreme duress are not materialising quickly ahead of the November midterm elections.
The EU has not enacted tariff reductions it pledged as part of a framework deal hammered out with Washington in July.
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And Trump announced this week he was raising duties on imports from South Korea to 25 per cent from 15 per cent, citing the national parliament’s slow pace in implementing a framework trade agreement that included a pledge to invest US$350 billion in the US.