ASIa Press News: Bloomberg released an exclusive report on Monday (August 24). According to people familiar with the matter, following the collapse of trade negotiations with US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government sees little chance of resuming talks before the US mid‑term elections.

    These insiders stated that the Carney administration is preparing a domestic aid package to support businesses hit by US tariffs. The programme is designed to help Canadian firms weather the remainder of Trump’s term if necessary.

    The sources requested anonymity as the discussions cover sensitive policy matters.

    The Carney government’s preparations underscore the gravity of Friday night’s breakdown. After talks failed, Trump announced new tariff hikes, while Carney pledged counter‑measures. This scenario raises risks of escalating trade conflict between the two highly integrated economies.

    Though Carney’s team sees no near‑term sign of renewed negotiations and views prospects for dialogue before the mid‑terms as “very slim”, some sources note the situation remains fluid and the US side has not fully ruled out restarting discussions.

    The abrupt breakdown has prompted Carney’s government to prepare for a potentially long‑drawn‑out “long winter”. One insider disclosed that Carney announced the domestic aid package on Saturday and told provincial premiers over the weekend that support measures would stay in place throughout the trade dispute, extending to the end of Trump’s term if needed.

    Carney told reporters: “We will stand behind these businesses for however long it takes. In other words, support may outlast the current US administration. We have built multiple mechanisms, and full details will be unveiled in a few days.”

    Carney’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Sunday.

    Earlier that day, Canadian Ambassador to the US Mark Wiseman said in an interview that Carney’s decision to impose counter‑measures on September 8 does not mean Canada expects last‑minute talks to resume. “I would not read it that way,” he remarked.

    For its part, the US stated it remains unclear whether a path back to negotiations exists.

    US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Fox News on Saturday: “It is hard to tell. There are no new negotiations scheduled with Canada right now. We are moving forward with measures in response to Canada’s retaliatory actions.”

    Wiseman added that the two countries maintain ongoing communications across multiple topics, but declined to confirm whether trade was discussed after Friday’s escalation.

    “We speak with Americans every single day. We will keep engaging with various officials within the US administration because that is essential — we are neighbours, friends and allies, and that has always defined our bilateral approach,” he said.

    Friday night’s collapsed talks cast a shadow over US‑Canada relations and created chaos across the weekend.

    Carney announced retaliatory tariffs, though specifics have yet to be published. It remains unclear how forceful the response will be and whether it will target key swing states ahead of November’s US mid‑term elections.

    Meanwhile, senior US officials have openly criticised Canada. Trump claimed Canada wants “the benefits of being a US state”, while US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy labelled Canada “foolish”.

    Still, compared with Trump’s previous harsh rhetoric toward Canada, Washington’s current response is relatively restrained.

    Carney’s Saturday remarks drew broad cross‑party backing within Canada, seemingly strengthening his political footing for a prolonged trade conflict.

    Trump’s repeated threats against Canada have made him deeply unpopular among Canadian citizens.

    A poll conducted after the negotiation collapse shows three‑quarters of Canadians support Carney’s decision to walk away from talks, even though many respondents worry about potential economic fallout.

    Full details of Canada’s domestic aid programme remain undisclosed, and the ultimate scale of potential trade‑war escalation is still uncertain.

    A US official said late Friday that if Carney moves ahead with retaliatory tariffs, Trump will have options for further escalation.