Carney says Canada will ‘adjust’ counter tariffs on US metals if no deal in 30 days

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday that Ottawa will “adjust” its 25 per cent counter tariffs on US steel and aluminum in response to a doubling of US levies if a deal on bilateral trade is not reached within 30 days. “Canada will adjust its existing counter tariffs on US steel and aluminum products on the 21st of July, at the end of that 30-day period,” Carney said. Carney also announced new measures to help stabilize Canada’s steel and aluminum sectors that have been hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, as exports have gone down and job losses are up.

The new federal programme includes a quota on foreign steel, which means there will be curbs on steel imports.

Carney said Canada’s counter-tariffs on US steel and aluminum products would go up—or down, depending on the negotiations with Trump—on July 21.

Trump hiked the US tariff rate on steel and aluminum from 25 per cent to 50 per cent earlier this month, but Carney did not announce any countermeasures since the talks were already on.

Carney and Trump had decided to strike a trade deal within a month during their meeting at the G7 summit.

The two leaders spoke one-on-one for about 30 minutes. After taking a few questions from reporters, the meeting continued with other officials from both countries for a further half-hour. They also discussed issues including critical minerals, border security, and possible areas of cooperation on defence, according to a statement from Carney’s office.

“We agreed to pursue negotiations toward a deal within the coming 30 days,” Carney said in a post on X on Monday afternoon.

Trump told reporters that he and Carney still have differences over policy but that a trade deal was “achievable” in the coming weeks. The president has directed his team to make the best possible deal as quickly as possible, said a White House official.