Carney pitches US on closer ties in autos, aluminum and minerals

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney used a speech in New York to make the case to the Trump administration for closer cooperation on aluminum, auto manufacturing and critical minerals.

The remarks come as the US and Mexico begin formal talks on potential changes to the continental trade pact known as USMCA. Canada has not yet started negotiations with the US, though the two sides have had informal discussions.

Carney’s speech to the Economic Club of New York sets out his own view on how the two longtime allies can deepen their trade ties.

“The examples are legion where we should work together and compete with the world together,” Carney said, according to the text of his prepared remarks. “To those ends, we have made specific, practical proposals to the US administration.”

Aluminum is a clear example where it makes sense to cooperate, given the huge amount of production in Quebec using relatively cheap hydro electricity, he said.

Canadian exports of aluminum to the US “are the energy equivalent of 10 Hoover Dams,” Carney said. “With America’s growing energy needs, does it make sense to build the gigawatts needed to replace Canada?”

On autos, he noted that Canada is the biggest customer of American-built cars, and said an integrated North American market is still the best way to compete with the automotive sectors in other regions.

Canada’s reserves of potash, nickel, copper and uranium can also be a major economic advantage for the US, Carney said. “Canada can be the most reliable supplier that America needs to put affordable food on the table, to strengthen its national defense and meet exploding its demand to power AI.”

Much of Carney’s speech was spent outlining his government’s efforts to grow Canada’s energy exports and rapidly expand its military capabilities.

He ended by urging the US to forge a closer partnership with what he described as “a different Canada, a stronger Canada, a more confident Canada.”

(By Brian Platt)