Canada is not a supplicant, will not let US dictate terms of USMCA review, says Carney

InternationalCanada is not a supplicant, will not let US dictate terms of USMCA review, says CarneyBy Reuters -Apr 23, 2026Canada is not a supplicant that will allow the United States to dictate the terms for a scheduled review of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade treaty, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday. The three nations are due to finish their work by July 1 ​but the schedule has been complicated by US-Canadian tensions over tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed ​on key imports from Canada last year. Carney says the measures mean Canada ⁠must reduce its heavy reliance on the US market. Trump complains that the USMCA deal – which underpins much of ​Canada’s economy – is unfair to the United States. “It’s not a case where there is someone making demands, and ​a supplicant,” Carney told reporters. “It’s not a case that the United States dictates the terms. We have a negotiation, we can come to a mutually successful outcome – it will take some time,” he continued. In Washington, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said unless ​Canada engaged in talks about broadening the so-called rules of origin that allow goods to enter the ​United States tariff-free, Washington might have to impose other border controls. Former Quebec premier Jean Charest, who sits on a panel ‌advising Carney ⁠on Canada-US economic relations, told Radio-Canada that Washington was seeking “a lot of concessions from Canada” before bilateral talks began. Mexico has already held two rounds of talks with the United States about the review and the two nations will hold their first formal round of negotiations next month. No date has been announced for talks with Canada. Carney ​said there were multiple levels ​of contact with US ⁠officials, adding that both sides had irritants that they wanted addressed. Canada responded to the US tariffs with its own countermeasures. Carney says Trump’s actions mean Canada ​needs to diversify trade. Greer told a Congressional hearing that Canada w...