Things are going to escalate very quickly now as the midterm election looms closer and various interests start to take their lane against President Trump and the economic position of the United States.  There are trillions at stake.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked about the latest Sec.338 tariffs levied by President Trump and USTR Jamieson Greer.  Carney said he and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to intensify trade negotiations following a phone conversation earlier this morning.

While the phone call likely did contain that sentiment, USTR Greer was clear on CNBC today that Mark Carney is simply not telling the truth.  The babble from the Canadian side is nothing of substance and just repeats the same nonsensical claims about agreeing to things that are not in conflict.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Prime Minister Carney said both sides would step up discussions in the coming weeks despite Trump’s latest tariff threat against Canada. He added that all options remain on the table if the United States proceeds with new tariffs.  WATCH:

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Below is how President Trump responded to questions about the motive for the new tariffs.

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In the first half of this CNBC interview with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer, the Ambassador walks through the reasoning, purpose and intent of the recently announced 50% tariff rate against Canadian imported goods.

As noted by USTR Greer the Canadians are applying two separate metrics within their trade agreement with Europe and the USA.  Toward Europe there are no limits and quotas on dairy products, toward the USA there are severe limits and quotas applied by third party brokers (co-ops owned by Canadian dairy farms) leveraged by the Canadian government.  This is one example of Canadian duplicity.

Additionally, by the various provincial governments of Canada banning the import and/or sale of U.S. products, and with Canada putting caps and limits on automobiles, these USA trade actions are being confronted by the 50% countervailing duties against Canadian imports.  Greer also calls ‘bulls**t’ on Carney’s double speak.  WATCH:

The trade discussion with Canada returns at the 10:00 minute mark. Jamieson Greer notes we have always had trade issues with Canada for decades. There was a significant percentage of the population who are against offshoring jobs, which is what NAFTA essentially did in North America.

It is also worth emphasizing that President Trump wants Canada to diversify. Both U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra and President Trump have said, repeatedly, President Trump wants Canada to go make other bilateral deals with other nations.

Why? Two main reasons.

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{Bumped – By Request More Analysis Added}

It is very obvious from the construct and details of this announcement that U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has completed a comprehensive review of the retaliatory action by Canada that followed the U.S. Section 232 tariffs on Steel and Aluminum. {FACT SHEET HERE}

Last year two countries retaliated against the U.S. for the 232 (steel and aluminum) tariffs, China and Canada. The USTR office has now quantified the tariff and non-tariff barriers triggered by Canada in 2025 and provided President Trump with a financial quantification of the trade impact.

The three Canadian retaliatory sectors highlighted include: (1) Alcoholic Beverages, (2) Motor Vehicles, (3) Dairy Products. These are the three segments quantified by USTR Greer that form the baseline for the U.S. to retaliate with countervailing duties.

Effective 30 days from now, August 16, 2026, President Trump has established a 50% tariff rate against a wide variety of Canadian imports. Essentially three major Annexes: {LIST 1 – LIST 2 – LIST 3} under the authority of Section 338.

♦ Section 338 authorizes the President, if he determines it will serve the public interest, to offset any burden or disadvantage placed on the commerce of the United States by an unequal imposition or discrimination by a foreign country by specifying and declaring additional duties not to exceed 50 percent ad valorem (or its equivalent) and not to take effect earlier than 30 days after the President’s proclamation finding that a foreign country imposes an unreasonable charge, exaction, regulation, or limitation that is not equally enforced on the like articles of every foreign country, or discriminates in fact against U.S. commerce in a way that places the commerce of the United States at a disadvantage compared to the commerce of any foreign country.

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Smoke from the wildfires in Ontario is blanketing parts of the U.S, creating a serious problem for Americans. President Donald Trump said Canada will be held responsible for the air pollution drifting into the U.S., adding he would “call the Prime Minister during the day to find out what they are going to do about it.”

In an interview with an avowed Canadian leftist, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra affirms President Trump’s latest tariff threat is the position of America and describes Trump’s comments as a call to action to address the issue of forest fires and smoke. Additionally, Hoekstra notes FIFA is currently evaluating air quality to determine their position on allowing the World Cup final match in New Jersey to continue. WATCH (Prompted):

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Previously, Mark Carney and the Canadian govt famously fired Air Canada’s CEO because he shamefully didn’t speak French. This week he hired American, Maia Johnson, as his Chief Operations Officer (COO), she also doesn’t speak French and the Canadians are perplexed.

Hired by Prime Minister Mark Carney, the role of Democrat party operative and former Michael Bloomberg associate, Maia Johnson, seems directly related to the strategy of leveraging U.S. Democrat resistance against the CUSMA (USMCA) termination.

[Note: Mark Carney and Michael Bloomberg connect through their banking and finance network with prior associations. This relationship also connects to U.K Mayor Andy Burnham who is likely to become the next U.K Prime Minister to replace Keir Starmer.]

Readers to CTH likely remember in 2018 former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leveraged Democrat House Leader Nancy Pelosi to regain position in the USMCA negotiations (NAFTA elimination) with USTR Robert Lighthizer.

It appears that Carney is attempting a similar maneuver through the connections of Democrat operative Maia Johnson.

Specifically, because positioning American resistance to the CUSMA (USMCA) termination is a key part of the Carney strategy, a COO from U.S. Democrat politics is the best strategic approach. A Canadian in that role would be of far lesser value.

TORONTO SUN – […] This week, it was reported that Carney was promoting a woman unknown to most Canadians to the position of chief operating officer in the PMO.

It appears to be a first for Canada to have a COO in the PMO, but it’s who the woman is that is truly interesting.

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The issue was never really about Canada tolling; the real issue was about ‘cost overruns’ against the backdrop of how the tolling revenue was being used for repayment to the govt of Canada.  It’s a rather sticky situation.

The Canadian government backstopped the financing of the bridge construction.  The deal was that Canada would use tolling to pay the govt back and subsequent tolls would split 50/50 with U.S.  However, cost overruns made the Canadian payback a little less clear as the govt expected more revenue than originally proposed.  Sketchy.

[SOURCE]

The deal currently being revealed as a compromise includes an immediate 50/50 split where Canada gets 50 per cent of the toll profits — after operational expenses — and the other half will go to a U.S-run regional development project for a 15-year time frame.

According to Global News, “The agreement also requires the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority to consult the U.S. on any toll changes greater than 10 per cent, the source said, or if it’s looking to lower tolls below those of comparable regional averages.”  Additionally, in Politico “they will guarantee and ensure that we’re not pouring Chinese cars over that bridge.”

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The European auto industry is a case study on how short-sighted trade policy goals, results in consequences.

Previously, German auto companies like Volkswagen entered into trade agreements with China and began manufacturing their vehicles with immediate financial success in the market.  However, it did not take long for Chinese auto companies to reverse the engineering and begin to deliver the same quality vehicles at much lower prices.

The Chinese then stop purchasing the Volkswagen vehicles and purchase the cheaper version, while simultaneously begin exporting those same vehicles into the home market from where the technology originated.

Today, with a double-digit decline in production, Volkswagen announces they will cut almost half of their models due to diminished sales.

BLOOMBERG – BERLIN — Volkswagen reported weak sales numbers on Friday, a day after the giant German automaker announced plans to slash the number of models by nearly half as sales plunged, particularly in China.

The Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said group sales fell 8.6 per cent in the second quarter to just under 2.1 million vehicles, with sales in China alone plummeted by more than one-third.

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An interesting report from Bloomberg following a survey conducted by KPMG of Canadian manufacturers.  Keep in mind this is a survey of companies within Canada that do traditional manufacturing of products; this is not a survey of companies that assemble foreign goods for export – there is a substantial difference.

As noted within the report, approximately 10% of Canadian GDP comes from Canadian manufacturing.  Within that sector there are multiple companies now planning or considering moving out of Canada into the United States.

Many will claim the trigger for the consideration is based on the potential elimination of the USMCA (CUSMA) trade agreement, and there is truth to that aspect.  However, the systemic issues within Canada -including energy policy, regulation and corporate tax burdens- represent the larger problem; the termination of the USMCA is the straw that breaks their back.

The domestic hurdles to manufacturing, are the bigger issues that cannot be negotiated away in U.S-Canada trade agreements.  Specifically, the low-price and stable energy policies are the core consistencies that are no longer present in Canada; that fundamental cannot be easily fixed.

BLOOMBERG – […] KPMG Canada said on Tuesday that 42 per cent of Canadian manufacturing companies indicated they have or are considering moving production to the United States. Of those considering relocating, 77 per cent expect to make the transition within the next two years.

[…] the issues go beyond the trade situation though, with Canada needing to create a competitive environment for manufacturers to grow.

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President Trump held a bilateral meeting with NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte earlier today during the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey.

WATCH THIS ONE!

During the press availability President Trump noted the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran has been essentially nullified, and the U.S. is responding with 20:1 retaliatory military strike into Iran. Trump noted “they’re scum” when discussing the lies from the Iranian regime.

Moving to NATO, President Trump specifically called out the weak NATO members who stood by and did nothing while Iran was building nuclear threats. President Trump called out France, Germany and the U.K. specifically, with a strong condemnation of Spain for their political interference.

President Trump pulled no punches and further stated that all U.S. trade with Spain should be immediately discontinued as a consequence of their interference and lack of support for security goals and objectives. WATCH:

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Do not skip this press availability.  President Trump speaks plainly about the geopolitical dynamics throughout the region and beyond.  This is a level of brutal honesty that will never be repeated in American politics.

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President Trump and Turkish President Recep Erdogan hold a bilateral meeting in Ankara, Turkey, ahead of the beginning of the NATO summit.   President Trump and President Erdogan exchanged pleasantries, appreciation and mutual respect in their introduction with the media.  Video Prompted to 01:45

The first question to President Trump was about selling F-35’s to Turkey.  President Trump notes the issue should not be controversial as Turkey is a NATO ally.  People who are concerned about F-35 sales, should publicly explain why a NATO member should be denied an allied weapon.

President Trump also noted there is a chemistry of honesty between himself and President Erdogan.  He said directly if the NATO summit were not being held in Ankara, there is a strong possibility President Trump would not have attended.  This positions Erdogan with strong respect as expressed by President Trump.

Again, President Trump outlines the specifics of why the European members of NATO are no longer reliable allies.  In a weird way this is the exact same long-term position of Turkey and explains the synergy between the two leaders on the issue.

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