Carney rolls eyes at US Treasury chief, says he told Trump he meant what he said at Davos
The PM denies walking back his remarks and says his country plans to diversify away from the US with a dozen new trade deals
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday that he told US President Donald Trump that he meant what he said in his speech at Davos, and told him Canada plans to diversify away from the United States with a dozen new trade deals.
Carney rolled his eyes and rejected US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s contention to Fox News that he aggressively walked back his comments at the World Economic Forum during a phone call with Trump on Monday.
“To be absolutely clear, and I said this to the president, I meant what I said in Davos,” Carney said to reporters as he arrived for a cabinet meeting in the capital, Ottawa.
“Canada was the first country to understand the change in US trade policy that he initiated, and we’re responding to that.”
In Davos at the World Economic Forum last week, Carney condemned economic coercion by great powers on smaller countries without mentioning Trump’s name. The prime minister received widespread praise and attention for his remarks, upstaging Trump at the gathering.
WATCH: Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Canadian PM Mark Carney
Trump threatened this past weekend to impose a 100 per cent tariff on goods imported from Canada if America’s northern neighbour went ahead with a trade deal with Beijing, though Carney has said Canada has no interest in negotiating a comprehensive trade deal with Beijing.