Canadian Prime Minister: Agreements with the US are not worth the paper they are written on

(Patria) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in an interview with Canadian public television CBC that he is in no hurry to sign a minor customs agreement with the US, Bloomberg reports.

Carney believes that other governments that have already made such concessions are not at all satisfied with the results achieved.

- Many countries rushed into agreements with the US. They were actually not worth the paper they were written on - Carney assesses.

He adds that foreign leaders are certainly not happy privately about the agreements they have signed to reduce tariffs on their goods, although he did not name them.

The problem with signing an agreement with Washington is also that US President Donald Trump often threatens to change already signed documents, as was the case with the pact with the United Kingdom.

Canada is currently in a specific position because most of its goods are imported into the US duty-free thanks to the USMCA agreement from 2020.

Since Canada is a major supplier of oil, fertilizer, and raw materials, imposing duties on these products would increase inflation in the US itself.

Nevertheless, US tariffs on cars, steel, aluminum, and lumber are seriously affecting the Canadian economy and leading to job losses in industries closely related to the American market.

🚨 Mark Carney just nailed it:

Countries that rushed into dodgy deals with the US under Trump got deals “not worth the paper they were written on.”

Sound familiar, Brexit Britain?

We ditched the stable EU single market for the fantasy 🦄 of brilliant US trade deals… and… pic.twitter.com/1N8dJesCf0

— Liz Webster (@LizWebsterSBF) May 4, 2026

Carney said he does not want to enter into an imperfect deal that would put Canada at a disadvantage just to help these industries in the short term.

- We could sit down this afternoon and resolve everything within ten days if the American side had the capacity and willingness to go through all of this, but negotiations require two parties, and they are not ready yet - Carney states.

This statement comes after senior officials from both countries made a series of complaints ahead of the scheduled review of the USMCA agreement.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer threatened unspecified punitive measures because Canadian provinces removed American alcohol from state stores in response to tariffs, while Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sharply criticized Canadian restrictions on dairy imports.

Carney retaliated by calling US tariffs a violation of the 2020 trade agreement.

His chief negotiator points out that the White House must acknowledge Canadian concessions, such as the abolition of digital services taxes at Trump's request.

There has been no progress in negotiations since October, and Trump broke off talks on metals in retaliation for a television advertisement in the province of Ontario that criticized tariffs and quoted Ronald Reagan, a Republican US president.

Carney admits that the final decision depends solely on one person's mood.

- He is the one who makes the decisions. On these and all other issues - concluded the Canadian Prime Minister, speaking about Trump.