U.S. ‘wants to do business,’ says Nikki Haley: ‘Just messy right now’

Canada and other countries should not give up on doing business with the United States, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley said Friday at the B7 summit conference in Ottawa.

Haley, Donald Trump’s former rival for the Republican presidential nomination, is among the key speakers at the event, where business leaders and diplomats assembled to chart a way through global trade uncertainty.

Haley’s comments come as the U.S. stokes instability in the global trade order with Trump’s tariffs, forcing some businesses to reorient their supply chains away from the American market.

“Don’t assume that the U.S. doesn’t want to do business with your country,” Haley said. “They actually do want to do business with your country. It’s just messy right now.”

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Trump has repeatedly insisted the United States needs nothing from Canada, though Canada is a significant source to the U.S. for multiple industries including energy, agriculture and critical minerals.

Haley compared the current trade environment with the United States to “growing pains” and said “this too shall pass.”

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She took part in a panel discussion Friday morning on how business leaders can build trust in an increasingly fractured world.

She said that while all businesses should have a “24-hour rule” encouraging them to pause before reacting to major geopolitical shifts, she joked that it should be a “72-hour rule” for those in the U.S. right now.

Haley otherwise avoided commenting directly on President Trump, who defeated her for the Republican nomination in 2024. Haley, who was Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations during his first presidency, was not given a position in his second administration.

U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra is scheduled for an afternoon address to the B7, which is a partner conference to the G7 summit happening in Alberta next month.