Toronto (Canada) (AFP) – The United States does not get to dictate the terms of upcoming trade talks, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday, following reports Washington wants an “entry fee” before agreeing to open negotiations. The United States and Canada are set to hold talks on revising a North American free trade agreement, a pact President Donald Trump signed and praised during his first term but now dismisses as “irrelevant.”
Quoting multiple Canadian sources, Canada’s public broadcaster CBC reported Wednesday that Trump’s team wants an “entry fee,” or concessions, from Canada before starting talks on revising the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Prominent Canadian politician and former Quebec premier Jean Charest, now a member of Carney’s advisory council on US trade, told French public broadcaster Radio-Canada that Trump is demanding “concessions before we sit down at the table.”
Asked about those reports in Ottawa, and whether Canada will give concessions in order to persuade the US to talk, Carney said “no.” “It’s not a case of the United States dictating the terms,” he said. “It’s not a case of (one country) demanding and the other begging,” he added in French. “It’s a negotiation.” The prime minister said Canada recognized the United States has “trade irritants” it wants addressed. “We have some on our side as well,” he told reporters, saying “the time will come to really roll up our sleeves.”
The offices of US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer did not immediately reply to requests for comment on the CBC’s report. But Greer told Congress on Wednesday the Trump administration is not going to “rubber stamp” a renewal of the USMCA. Greer has repeatedly said parts of the agreement need to substantially change. “Canada is doubling down on globalization when we’re trying to correct for the problems of globalization. So those are two models that don’t fit together very well,” Greer testified.
– ‘Weaknesses that we must correct’ –
Since taking office just over one year ago, Carney has maintained a defiant tone in response to Trump’s threats, insisting Canada will not buckle when faced with unreasonable trade demands. He has also said Canada needs to dramatically reduce its economic and security reliance on the United States. In an address to the nation on Sunday, he said: “Many of our former strengths based on our close ties to America have become our weaknesses, weaknesses that we must correct.”
Trump has imposed punishing tariffs on key Canadian sectors but has so far adhered to most of the USMCA, meaning more than 85 percent of US-Canada trade has remained tariff-free. Trump’s auto and steel tariffs have hit particularly hard in Canada’s largest province, Ontario, where Premier Doug Ford has retaliated by blocking the sale of all US liquor and wine. Lutnick called that ban “outrageous” in congressional testimony on Wednesday. But Ford has said he will not waver until all US tariffs are removed. “I don’t trust President Trump,” Ford said Wednesday.
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