OTTAWA, April 23 - U.S. President Donald Trump has not raised the idea that Canada must pay an "entry fee" before a formal review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) can start, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday.
The three countries are expected to complete their review work by July 1, but that schedule has been complicated by tensions between the United States and Canada over tariffs that the U.S. imposed on key Canadian imports last year. Washington has already set out a list of concessions it wants Canada to make now - an approach that some domestic media and commentators have described as tantamount to demanding an entry fee to the review process.
Carney addressed that characterization directly when speaking to reporters. "I dont know where the talk of an entry fee is from. Its certainly not coming from me, its not language Ive ever used, and its not language Ive ever heard from the president of the United States," he said.
He further stressed that Canada will not act as if it is taking instructions. "Were not sitting here taking notes and taking instruction from the United States... were ready to go into detailed negotiations. Were also ready to wait, if thats what has to happen," Carney added, while expressing continued confidence that progress could be achieved.
Canadian officials have indicated there is little likelihood the review will be completed by the July 1 deadline and emphasize a preference for resolving all outstanding matters concurrently rather than through a piecemeal approach. Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister responsible for trade with the United States, told the Globe and Mail on Tuesday that Canada will not make a string of concessions merely to sit at the table and receive further demands later.
"Were not going to make a series of concessions... just to get to a table and have a statement appear on a website in the United States (and) then receive a whole second list of things that theyre going to want," LeBlanc said.
The comments underscore an ongoing friction in U.S.-Canadian trade relations linked to tariffs and the sequencing of negotiations. Ottawa's position is that outstanding issues should be addressed in a comprehensive manner, while the United States has signaled it wants certain concessions now. How those differences will be resolved remains a central question as the review proceeds.