Kashkari: Canada Tariff Fight Could Extend Inflation

"The longer there's back and forth on the trade front, just like the longer there's back and forth in the conflict of Iran, the imprint and inflation end up being extended and delayed," Kashkari said, according to CBS News.

Carney's own account is blunter. "In recent days, the United States proposed new terms that were un-economic, unfair, and undermined the net benefits for Canada and called into question the reliability of any deal," he said at a Sunday press conference, as reported by The Hill. Asked why it felt like his country was going to war, he answered: "In short, they asked too much and they offered too little. You're at war when you get attacked. We got attacked."

He told reporters he was not prepared to "compromise Canada's sovereignty or undermine our key industries," CNBC reported, and said Canada was acting "reluctantly," acknowledging that "some U.S. companies and some U.S. states are innocent bystanders in a dispute that they did not want."

The administration's version is that Canada walked away from the best offer available. Greer called the lost agreement a "missed opportunity" in a Saturday post on X and criticized Canada's "prolonged retaliation against the United States." He wrote: "For decades, Canada has enjoyed the most favorable access to the U.S. market of any country. And from the beginning of President Trump's trade program, Canada has continued to enjoy the best treatment in the world, even after — like China — retaliating against the United States."

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted Carney will fold. "To think that they're going to go to war with Donald Trump and actually win that war with the U.S., I think it's foolish on their part," Duffy said on "Fox News Sunday," as reported by CTV News. The Hill reported he expects Carney to "come to the table" because the tariffs will be "devastating" for his country.

Republicans are not united

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) urged the administration to "consider the negative impact" of the trade war in a Saturday statement posted to X and reported by The Hill. "Ever since the tariffs were first announced, I have heard from many businesses, farmers, and lobstermen concerned about the cost of navigating the tariffs, the lack of domestic supply chains, and the likely imposition of retaliatory tariffs by Canada," she wrote, saying she wants both sides back at the table and warning of "higher costs, risk, and uncertainty for Maine businesses."

Former Vice President Mike Pence went further on CNN's "State of the Union," per The Hill: "American businesses and American consumers pay American tariffs, and I think the last thing we need right now, as our economy is getting back on its feet, is a trade war with Canada." His advice to the president: "Drive a hard bargain. But let's pursue free trade with free nations."

Other Republicans backed the president. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) posted that "Canada's economy only exists by stealing American jobs," adding, "We no longer have a President that sells out American workers," The Hill reported.