Canada’s new PM makes first foreign visit amid escalating trade war with the US
(VOVWORLD) -Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday began his first official foreign trip to France and the UK to seek alliances as he is facing an escalating trade war with the US.
 Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney begins his first official foreign trip to France and the UK. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) |
The trip to meet French President Emmanuel Macron will be followed by a visit to London, where he will speak to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in an effort to diversify trade and coordinate responses to the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
In the UK, Carney is expected to meet King Charles III, who is also Canada’s head of state. Carney is a former governor of the Bank of England, the first noncitizen to be named to the role in the bank’s 300-plus-year history.
Addressing after the swearing-in ceremony last Friday, Carney expressed a tough stance on Trump's trade policies, saying he would maintain retaliatory measures until Washington showed its willingness to negotiate fairly.
Trade tensions between the two countries escalated when Trump announced a 25% tariff on Canadian aluminum and steel, while threatening to impose a 25% tariff on most imports and a 10% tariff on energy and minerals from Canada from April 2.