U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 20, 2026. Denis Balibouse/Reuters
Trump Official Warns Carney Against ‘Picking a Fight’ Ahead of USMCA Review
NTDTV Staff
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has cautioned Prime Minister Mark Carney against escalating tensions with Washington ahead of the upcoming review of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), warning that confrontational rhetoric could undermine Canada’s negotiating position.
“I would not pick a fight going into USMCA to score some cheap political points,” Bessent told CNBC on Jan. 28. “Either you are working for your own political career, or you’re working for the Canadian people.”
The USMCA is scheduled for review later this year. Carney has described the agreement as the “best deal” currently available to Canada, noting that it allows roughly 85 percent of goods to move tariff-free between Canada and the United States, despite his government’s failure to secure exemptions from certain U.S. sectoral tariffs.
Bessent’s remarks followed Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 20, in which the prime minister warned that “economic integration” was being used as a weapon and tariffs as leverage by unnamed “great powers.” Carney said the global rules-based order was undergoing a “rupture” and encouraged countries and businesses to reduce compliance with what he described as a coercive new system. He also pointed to Canada’s efforts to diversify trade, including closer engagement with China.
The speech drew sharp reactions in Washington. President Donald Trump said Canada should be “grateful” for its relationship with the United States, adding that Carney “wasn’t so grateful,” and later rescinded an invitation for Carney to join his newly announced “Board of Peace.”
Carney and Trump discussed the Davos remarks during a Jan. 26 phone call, but accounts of the conversation diverged. Bessent, who participated in the call, said Carney had “very aggressively” walked back some of his “unfortunate remarks.” Carney disputed that characterization.
“To be absolutely clear, and I said this to the president, I meant what I said in Davos,” Carney told reporters on Jan. 27, describing the exchange as a “very good conversation.”
Pressed on the conflicting accounts, Bessent declined to address the discrepancy directly, instead questioning Carney’s political strategy. “I’ve seen what happens when a technocrat tries to pivot and become a politician; it never really works out well,” he said, adding that Carney “rose to power on an anti-American, anti-Trump message.”
Other U.S. officials echoed the view that the Davos speech may have been politically motivated. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick described it as “political noise,” suggesting it was aimed at domestic audiences and unlikely to reflect a genuine shift toward China.
Despite the sharp rhetoric, both governments have struck a more optimistic tone on the future of USMCA. “In the end, I think we will end up in a good place,” Bessent said, adding that negotiations “may not be a straight line.” Carney, for his part, said that “relations are good” and that Canada is prepared to build a “new relationship” with the United States through the trade agreement.