The old British wartime maxim “keep calm and carry on” was given a new twist on Sunday at the opening of the ASEAN Summit when Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed South Asian leaders about the importance of having “reliable partners who deliver on their commitments”.
The subtle hits They spoke against a backdrop of increasing tariff rhetoric and threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has vowed to impose an additional 10 per cent tariff on Canadian goods in retaliation for the Ontario government’s television ads citing former President Ronald Reagan’s criticism of tariffs.
Carney has not responded directly to the American president’s latest broadside. It fell to Dominic Leblanc, U.S.-Canada Trade Minister, to respond with a social media post Saturday night that reiterated the prime minister’s position that Canada will continue and be ready when the U.S. wants to resume trade negotiations.
Carney’s speech in Malaysia early Sunday was partly a speech in favor of freer trade with the ASEAN bloc of nations and partly a veiled reference to worsening relations with the United States.
“We have all been reminded of the importance of having trusted partners, who keep their commitments, who are there in difficult times and who engage collaboratively to fix something that is not working,” Carney told the leaders of the 11 nations gathered around the table in the Malaysian capital.
“Canada is a very reliable partner, and I have come to Kuala Lumpur to say clearly that we want to play a greater role in this region.”
The Liberal government is pressing ahead with free trade negotiations in ASEAN, hoping to conclude a deal next year.
“Like ASEAN, Canada values the rules-based system. We respect trade agreements and the rule of law,” Carney said in comments that could also be interpreted as directed at Trump. “We believe in the value of the free exchange of goods, capital and ideas.”
He added that the world is now going through a fundamental change: more of a rupture than a transition.
“Multilateral trade liberalization is giving way to transactional and managed bilateral trade and investment,” the prime minister said.
There was some hope that Carney and Trump would meet on the sidelines of the summit to resolve the dispute over the ads, which aired during the World Series, but the president has said he is not interested in talking.
US President Donald Trump is abandoning all trade talks with Canada, he says, because of Ontario’s anti-tariff commercial featuring former President Ronald Reagan’s voice. But were Reagan’s words really taken out of context, as Trump claims?
Only one ‘general’ is needed in the trade war
Without directly placing blame on Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, said it’s up to the premier to keep premiers in line.
“In a trade war you need one general, not 13, and I hope the prime minister can recognize that we have to get our act together here if we want to have a chance to make progress,” said Hyder, noting that the sectoral tariff negotiations are just the warm-up for next year’s renegotiation of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement (CUSMA).
He also said the dissatisfaction on the American side runs deeper than Trump’s reaction to the announcement.
“I’m not convinced that the ad itself is the problem here,” Hyder said.
“There are a number of areas where the Americans have expressed some concerns. I would like to get the negotiators back in the room to negotiate a deal.”
One of the irritants Hyder pointed out outside the trade sphere was Canada’s recognition of a Palestinian state.
In a speech at the start of the summit, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim delivered a general message that almost seemed aimed at the current dispute between Canada and the United States.
“In all regions, we see a growing response to growing uncertainty,” Ibrahim said.
“These crosswinds test not only our economy, but also our collective determination to keep faith in cooperation, to believe that understanding and dialogue can still prevail.”
Trump received an enthusiastic, flag-waving greeting when he arrived in Kuala Lumpur early Sunday, where he oversaw the signing of a peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia, which his administration helped negotiate last summer.
Trump said it took “a lot of phone calls” to achieve the unconditional ceasefire in the border war.
He said he is very good at reaching peace agreements and argued that he is better at it than the United Nations.
United States President Donald Trump announced on social media that he will increase “the tariff on Canada” by 10 percent “above what they are paying now” due to an announcement from the Ontario government. It is not clear at the moment which tariff (or tariffs) the US president is referring to.
