Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said trade talks with the United States will only restart when American officials stop posting memes and start being serious. His comments come as Canada's retaliatory tariffs on more than 700 US products, covering C$27.6 billion in trade, are set to land September 8.
Why the talks collapsed
Canada walked out on August 21 and called its negotiators home. Carney said Washington wanted Canadian industries turned into subsidiaries of US firms, or wound down, and he refused. The US hit back a day later with 50% tariffs on Canadian goods worth roughly $20 billion. That covers about 5% of the $382 billion Canada shipped to the US last year, according to US Census Bureau data.
The never-used trade law
The White House invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a law never used before by any president. Section 338 caps duties at 50%, so Trump took the ceiling. The move comes after the Supreme Court in February struck down Trump tariffs built on a 1977 emergency law. Ryan Majerus, partner at King & Spalding and former US trade official, said the law is a blank canvas because it's never been litigated.
The meme war
Trump signed an order on August 27 renaming Lake Ontario 'Lake America' for US government use. He also posted an AI video of armed Canada geese wearing his hairstyle. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mocked Canada's navy on CNBC. Canada and the rest of the world reject the name change and still call it Lake Ontario. Carney said: 'When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions.'
What's at stake
Softwood lumber duties on Canadian imports now total 45%, according to the National Association of Home Builders. No meeting has been booked between the two sides since talks collapsed in August. The September 8 tariffs will hit a wide range of US products.
The September 8 tariffs are set to take effect with no talks scheduled. Whether Washington changes its approach before then remains an open question.
