Copyright scmp
US President Donald Trump said he received an apology from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney over a television ad that opposed tariffs, but suggested that trade talks between the two countries would not restart. Asked by reporters aboard Air Force One whether negotiations between the White House and Carney’s government would resume, Trump said: “No, but I have a very good relationship. I like him a lot, but you know, what they did was wrong. He was very nice. He apologised for what they did with the commercial.” Economic data released by Statistics Canada on Friday showed the trade battle is taking a toll on the economy, with the numbers pointing to just 0.4 per cent annualised growth in the third quarter. Earlier on Friday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the goal is for the US and Canada to return to the table after talks broke off last week, and for the countries to cooperate more closely on oil, gas and critical minerals. There has been friction in the talks between Canada and the US “for some good reasons”, Wright told reporters at the Group of Seven energy and environment ministers’ meeting in Toronto on Friday. Trump called off the negotiations last week after the province of Ontario aired an anti-tariff advertisement in the US that drew from a 1987 radio address by former US president Ronald Reagan. Trump also threatened an additional 10 per cent tariff on Canada. Before the breakdown, Carney said the two countries had been progressing on a deal on steel and aluminium sectoral tariffs, as well as energy. Carney had pitched Trump on reviving the Keystone XL pipeline project. “Unfortunately we’ve had some bumps on the road,” Wright said. “I would say the goal is to bring those back together and I think to see cooperation between the United States and Canada across critical minerals, across oil and gas.” Trump has also said recently that he was satisfied with the current trade arrangement between the US and Canada, which includes US import taxes on cars, timber, steel and aluminium, along with a 35 per cent tariff on other goods not shipped under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement that Trump signed during his first term.
