Canada ready to pick up trade negotiations with US, Carney says

TORONTO (Reuters) -Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday said his country is prepared to pick up trade negotiations with the United States when Washington is ready, adding that Canada cannot control trade policy with its neighbor to the south.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday night said trade talks with Canada were over after an Ontario political ad cited Republican icon Ronald Reagan saying tariffs cause trade wars and economic disaster.

"My colleagues have been working with their American colleagues on detailed constructive negotiations, discussions on specific sectors -- steel, aluminum and energy," Carney said before departing Ottawa for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in his first official visit to Asia.

"We stand ready to pick up on that progress," he said.

Carney added that Canada can control new partnerships and opportunities, including with the "economic giants of Asia," the focus of his trip.

(Reporting by Maiya Keidan in Toronto and Katharine Jackson in Washington; editing by Susan Heavey)