Canada will not make any more concessions to the United States ahead of negotiations to review the continental trade pact, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday, as he insisted Washington will not be allowed to dictate the terms of the talks.
Carney was responding to a Radio-Canada report citing officials who said the Americans are imposing an "entry fee" on trade talks with Canada and are demanding concessions before negotiations begin.
"It's not a case of the United States dictates the terms. We have a negotiation, we can come to a mutually successful outcome. It will take some time, and we will take the time," Carney said as he arrived on Parliament Hill Wednesday.
The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement is up for mandatory review this year. Mexico and the U.S. agreed to begin formal talks on that review in January but Canada and the U.S. have not reached that point yet.
When asked directly if Canada should make any more concessions to the U.S. to get the Trump administration to the table, Carney said "no."
The prime minister said there are "multiple levels of contact" between Canadian and American officials and both sides have their own lists of trade irritants.
"We'll sit down and work through those issues with the broader approach in the negotiation. We've made some counter-proposals … and the time will come to really roll up our sleeves," Carney said.
Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, did not take reporters' questions as he entered the caucus meeting Wednesday.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said being at the table with the U.S. is of "the utmost importance."
"That, in this moment, is significant and will continue to occur until we reach a place where Canada's interests are well protected and represented in the formal outcome," Anand said.
Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, who was in Washington last week, said Wednesday Canada has made it clear that an agreement needs to be reached on U.S. sectoral tariffs on Canada's steel, aluminum, automobiles and softwood lumber.
Janice Charette, Canada's chief trade negotiator, said Tuesday during a panel discussion in Ottawa that Canada already has made significant concessions by dropping the digital services tax, issuing millions of dollars in refunds to tech companies and ending retaliatory tariffs.
A recent report from the Office of the United States Trade Representative identifies provinces refusing to stock American alcohol and high tariffs on some American dairy products as trade irritants.
Carney has promised to protect Canada's supply management system for dairy, poultry and eggs during trade talks with the U.S.
The U.S. is also pushing back against the "Buy Canadian" policy, which gives priority to Canadian products and workers on projects worth more than $25 million.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
