Mark Carney calls for new partnership with U.S. as Trump mulls whether to renew free trade agreement

Lead

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called for a new partnership with the United States, weeks before President Donald Trump decides whether to renew the free trade agreement between the countries. In a speech at the Economic Club of New York on May 28, Carney said there should be a "true partnership" that re-imagines cooperation in specific sectors challenged by global competition, as reported by The Guardian and the South China Morning Post.

Carney's remarks came ahead of the mandatory review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in July. He also delivered a separate speech in Dublin, where he appealed to leaders of what he called "middle powers" to unite, according to Al Jazeera.

Coverage comparison

Coverage of Carney's recent statements has focused on two distinct audiences. The Guardian and the South China Morning Post reported on his New York speech, where he emphasized a new relationship with the United States. The Guardian framed his remarks as a response to the actions of the Trump administration, while the South China Morning Post portrayed them as a response to the current state of global trade.

Al Jazeera, reporting on a separate speech at Trinity College in Dublin on June 13, highlighted Carney's call for a shift away from a world order dominated by superpowers. The Hindu, in an article about the upcoming G7 summit, noted that Carney is expected to tone down his criticism of Trump, a shift attributed to the pending USMCA review.

Key claims

Carney has set a goal to double Canadian exports to non-U.S. markets in the next decade, a target reported by multiple outlets. "Our core objective across these partnerships is to increase our strategic autonomy," Carney said in New York, according to The Guardian and The Hindu. "Because we live in a world where integration has been weaponised. Because a country that cannot feed, fuel or defend itself is not truly sovereign."

In his New York speech, Carney said Canada's strength would "help make America great again," a phrase that was reported by both The Guardian and the South China Morning Post. He cited examples of sectors where the two countries should work together, including aluminum, cars, and critical minerals.

Carney also addressed his January trip to Beijing, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to the South China Morning Post, Carney said they accomplished "a very basic reset of the relationship" and that he told Xi privately that China, as a rising power, needs to assume more responsibility for the global monetary and financial system, including the role of its currency.

In Dublin, Carney said the post-Cold War world's rules-based order is breaking down drawdown, as reported by Al Jazeera. "The post-Cold War world's rules-based order is breaking down. Multilateral institutions have weakened. Economic integration, from which we have benefitted is being weaponised. The international trading system, which we've relied upon for decades, is under threat."

Carney has also pushed to strengthen bonds with the European Union)Skip, becoming the first non-European leader to join the European Political Community Summit, according to Al Jazeera. He has overseen Canada's push to join Europe's SAFE Instrument, a loan program designed to help countries buy critical military defense supplies, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The USMCA is up for a mandatory review in July, and Trump has suggested he may not renew the deal, according to The Hindu. Canada is the United States' largest customer, buying more goods than China, Japan, and Germany combined, as reported by multiple outlets.

Trump has suggested that Canada become the 51st US state and has used tariffs to pressure Canada to cede its sovereignty, as reported by The Guardian and The Hindu. These actions have infuriated Canadians and created the political environment for Carney to win the job of prime minister, according to The Guardian.

Carney's remarks in Dublin were noted for their generality — he did not name any countries violating the rules-based order, according to Al Jazeera. The speech came at a moment of historic friction between Canada and the United States, and both Carney and Trump are expected to attend the upcoming G7 summit in France, held from June 15 to 17.