Howard Lutnick, the U.S. secretary of commerce, said on Friday that President Trump was committed to reining back the North American trade deal and blasted Canada for its trade negotiating strategy, adding, “they suck.”
Mr. Lutnick, who was speaking at a conference organized by the media outlet Semafor, was particularly critical of Canada’s effort to push back against the Trump administration. He dismissed a former Canadian trade official’s suggestion that Canada could benefit from negotiating more slowly because political pressure on the Trump administration was increasing, as “the worst strategy I ever heard.”
A spokesman for the Department of Commerce said that Mr. Lutnick was describing America’s unfair trade imbalance with Canada and how Canada “sucks off” America’s $30 trillion economy.
Howard Lutnick says USMCA is OVER.
Mark Carney’s BEST deal with the U.S. is about to expire.
You voted for this Canada 🇨🇦 elbows Up pic.twitter.com/rhvr8VFsxW
— Marc Nixon (@MarcNixon24) April 17, 2026
Expect this to go over well …
Who's afraid of Mexican drug cartels when you have the Dairy Mafia to worry about https://t.co/5rtVbLh5aP
— Blazingcatfur (@fancypants_s) April 17, 2026
