Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has ruled out any concessions on free trade terms ahead of further talks with the US, while a senior US official has warned that the two countries have serious differences on trade issues, the BBC reports.
The comments come at a tense time, with the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement talks uncertain. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Congress on the 22nd of April that Canada is sticking to globalization while the US is trying to solve its problems. Carney told reporters that Ottawa will not allow the US to dictate the terms of the free trade talks: “It’s not a case where there is someone making demands, and a supplicant.” He added that there is a negotiation process, and it is possible to reach a mutually beneficial outcome, but it will take time.
Canada, the United States and Mexico must complete a mandatory review of the USMCA free trade agreement by the 1st of July. Greer’s office said that Mexico will begin bilateral talks with the United States in May, and Greer and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum met on the 20th of April. Formal talks between the United States and Canada are still being prepared.
Canada has already made concessions to the United States on some issues. Last June, it abandoned a planned tax on U.S. technology companies when the Donald Trump administration labeled it an obstacle.
Carney convened a new advisory panel on Canada-US trade relations on the 21st of April,
with the first meeting scheduled for next week. Jean Charest, a member of the new commission, told Radio-Canada that the United States expects broad concessions from the Canadians before bilateral talks begin.
The United States has reported several obstacles to trade and hopes that they will be removed. Among the obstacles the Americans have mentioned is the decision by most Canadian provinces to stop selling American-made liquor because of tariffs. Greer said that two countries have tried to influence the United States through economic methods last year – China and Canada. He warned that coercive action may have to be used to resolve the issue.
Another issue that has long been unpleasant for Americans is quotas for dairy exports. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on the 22nd of April that Canada is treating US dairy farmers poorly. Trump last year criticized Canada for imposing unprecedented tariffs on the American dairy industry, up to 400%.
Canada’s dairy industry is subject to a supply management system
that strictly controls production quotas and imports to support local dairy farmers. Some US dairy products can be imported tariff-free up to a certain amount. According to U.S. data, the limit has never been reached.
Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for US-Canada trade, told reporters on the 22nd of April that the dairy rules are non-negotiable and that the Americans have been made clear. He added that Ottawa has solutions to most of the American objections.
It is not known when the talks might begin, but both Canada and the United States have indicated that a solution is unlikely to be found by the 1st of July.
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