Canada inches toward US trade talks
- Prime Minister Mark Carney said on April 22 that Canada is preparing for talks to renew the North American trade pact, but warned Washington will not dictate terms. - Carney tied any Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement review to relief from U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos and lumber, rejecting a narrower deal while talks restart in Washington. - Canada is negotiating under heavy pressure after U.S. tariffs and Canadian retaliation hit a $1.3 trillion annual trade relationship. (cbc.ca)
Prime Minister Mark Carney said on April 22 that Canada will enter trade talks with the United States, but not on terms set solely by Washington. (cbc.ca) (nytimes.com) Carney said negotiations to renew the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, known in Canada as CUSMA, “will take some time” and must produce U.S. concessions before Ottawa agrees to another 16-year term. (cbc.ca) (msn.com) The immediate dispute is not just the trade pact itself. Canada wants any review to cover the tariffs President Donald Trump has kept on Canadian steel, aluminum, autos, lumber and other products. (cbc.ca 1) (cbc.ca 2) That position hardens a line Ottawa has been drawing for weeks: no “one-off” pact on the treaty if the sectoral tariffs stay in place. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc carried that message into a March meeting in Washington with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. (cbc.ca) The stakes are unusually high because the United States and Canada trade about C$1.3 trillion a year, and the treaty comes up for mandatory review in 2026. Trump has also floated bigger changes, including separate deals with Canada and Mexico. (cbc.ca) Canadian officials say the tariff fight is already hitting core industrial sectors. On March 13, 2025, Ottawa imposed 25% countertariffs on C$29.8 billion worth of U.S. steel, aluminum and other goods after Washington moved first. (canada.ca) Ottawa has since tried to cushion the blow at home. On April 15, 2025, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced tariff relief for some manufacturers, a performance-based remission plan for automakers and a loan facility for large firms. (canada.ca) Washington, meanwhile, has moved in the opposite direction on metals. A White House fact sheet published April 2 said articles made mostly of steel, aluminum or copper would face tariffs of 50% on full value. (whitehouse.gov) Canadian media have reported that U.S. officials want an “entry fee” before formal talks begin, meaning concessions from Ottawa before the bargaining starts. Carney answered that report by saying Canada is “not a supplicant.” (cbc.ca) (msn.com) That leaves Canada trying to reopen a rules-based trade deal while also fighting tariffs that sit outside it. Carney’s position is that the two fights are now the same negotiation. (cbc.ca)
