Lutnick Says Canada Ended Trade Talks for Political Purposes

U.S. President Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told media on Thursday that the breakdown in negotiations with Canada was due to the political objectives of Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Lutnick: "We Were Just Used"

Speaking at a briefing shared by Forbes, Lutnick said he had met with Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc "at least 10 times over the past month." Lutnick then said he had spoken with Carney twice "within 24 hours before the talks ended."

"I have text messages with Mark Carney," he said, emphasizing a "long-standing relationship" between the two since Carney's time at Goldman Sachs. "Before we started, Canada had the best trade deal in the world," Lutnick said, adding the country would have had "the best deal in the world."

Lutnick then said "Canada walked away" from the deal, claiming the decision was made for "political" reasons. "This is purely political," he said. He also dismissed controversy over the French language. "If you think I said the word 'French' — do I care how Quebecers speak? What could be more irrelevant to the United States? We don't care," he said.

"We never brought up those words. It was manufactured," Lutnick added, noting Canada will hold elections in October. "I suspect the moment the election is over, you'll see a plane full of Canadian negotiators fly over" to strike a deal, he said.

"We were just used by them; that's what it is; that's why the talks ended. It's not because the numbers didn't work; the numbers were spectacular," the Commerce Secretary said.

Earlier reports indicated that Lutnick's involvement in the late stages of negotiations was a key factor in the failure of the talks, as the Commerce Secretary believed the deal was too generous to Canada and posed a threat to U.S. metal producers.

Medium- and Heavy-Duty Truck Tariffs Only Raised at 4 PM Friday

Lutnick also pointed to the issue of medium- and heavy-duty truck tariffs. "The term 'medium- and heavy-duty trucks' was only brought up at 4 PM Friday in these trade talks," Lutnick said. "These items were never raised before. They were not part of the negotiations. This is something else," he added.

He said the aforementioned trucks differ from those driven by ordinary Americans. "I know what a Ford F-150 is," he said. "What's an F450? 'Oh, it has two wheels in the back,' and then you'd say, 'Well, who sees those?'" Lutnick retorted. "That's a construction product. That's different — a completely different category. It was never raised," he reiterated.

He then slammed the Canadian government, saying these terms were added specifically to prevent a deal. "This is pure nonsense," Lutnick added.

The Canadian Prime Minister's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Greer Reiterates "Best Deal"

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the Canadian government was offered the "best deal" and reiterated that negotiations over medium- and heavy-duty truck tariffs were separate from Section 232 tariffs. "I've been clear about what we believe we can deliver, including on the automotive side," Greer said.

Earlier, Lutnick said tariffs on the auto industry would bring jobs back to U.S. auto manufacturing. He also praised automakers such as Ford Motor Company and Toyota Motor Corporation for their push toward domestic manufacturing.