White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt singled out Canada Thursday, saying “our neighbors to the north have been pretty difficult to deal with” as Washington and Ottawa negotiate trade terms.
“The trade team continues to be very active in our conversations with Canada,” Leavitt said during a White House press briefing.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced plans to impose a 35% tariff on Canada, one of the nation’s top trading partners.
Last year, the bilateral trade relationship totaled over $762 billion with Canada exporting over three-quarters of its products to the U.S., according to U.S. Trade Representative data.
TRUMP’S TARIFF REVENUES ARE HITTING RECORD HIGHS, GENERATING $100B SO FAR
So far this month, the president has announced plans to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and all 27 countries that make up the European Union. Those tariffs follow a 50% levy on copper imports and products from Brazil and other tariffs imposed on more than 20 countries.
Leavitt said the European Union, America’s top trading partner and the world’s largest trading bloc, was “eager” to negotiate its trade deal with Trump.
The EU is seeking “ways to lower their tariff and their non-tariff barriers that we have long said harm our workers and our companies,” Leavitt said.
A BREAKDOWN OF THE COUNTRIES FACING TRUMP’S TARIFFS
So far, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has held back on imposing countermeasures on the U.S., a move that gives the 27-member bloc breathing room to negotiate with Trump.
Trump’s announced tariffs are slated to take effect Aug. 1.
“If countries want to have legitimate further discussions, the Trump administration and the president’s trade team are willing to have further talks,” Leavitt said.
“But these letters these countries have been receiving are the deals.”
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