Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick blasted Canada’s trade strategy, stating “they suck,” during Semafor’s World Economy Summit on Friday.
“That is the worst strategy I’ve ever heard,” Lutnick told Semafor’s Ben Smith, referring to a suggestion from Canada’s former trade chief that the country could benefit from slow-walking trade negotiations with the U.S. amid mounting political pressure against Trump.
Lutnick criticized Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has also been criticized by President Trump while winning praise from some Trump critics for comments at the Davos Economic Forum.
“Look we are a $30 trillion economy right? We are the consumer of the world,” Lutnick said. “Carney has a problem with us. He gets on a plane and he goes to China. Does he think the Chinese economy’s going to buy his stuff? China is entirely an export driven economy. So what did he do? He came back and he said ‘Oh we’ll take their electric cars.’ I mean, is this nuts?”
A Commerce Department spokesperson told outlets that Lutnick was “misquoted” when he said that Canada “sucks.”
