Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau: US Cannot Dictate Terms of Trade Talks with Canada

Americas – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday that the United States would not dictate the terms of upcoming trade negotiations between the two countries. Earlier, he was asked whether Washington had demanded "access rights" prior to the start of talks. Although negotiations to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have been stalled for months, Washington and Ottawa still plan to hold bilateral meetings in the near future.

On Wednesday, Radio-Canada cited multiple Canadian sources reporting that Trump’s team had demanded “access rights”—a set of preconditions. When questioned about this issue and whether Canada should make further concessions to persuade the U.S. to engage in dialogue, Mark Carney replied: “No concessions will be made.”

He stated: “This is not about the U.S. imposing conditions.” He added that this is not a game between a country making demands and another begging for access. “This is a negotiation.”

The offices of U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer have not yet responded to Radio-Canada’s report.

However, during a parliamentary committee hearing on Wednesday, Jamison Greer stated that Canada “is double-dependent on globalization while trying to fix problems it has created itself.”

Greer, who is responsible for trade negotiations with Ottawa, argued: “These two models are not aligned.” Over a year ago, Mark Carney was elected prime minister with a mission to stand up to the U.S., its southern neighbor. Since then, he has consistently maintained that Canada must reduce its economic and security reliance on the United States.

In a pre-recorded address to the nation on Sunday, he added: “Our past advantage—our close ties with the U.S.—has now become a disadvantage. We must take action.” While Trump has imposed punitive tariffs on key sectors of the Canadian economy, he has largely respected the free trade agreement so far, with over 85% of trade between the two nations remaining tariff-free.

His administration has indicated it will make significant revisions to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) during review talks scheduled after July 1, expected to be more intensive.

Source: rfi

Original: toutiao.com/article/1863225933831323/

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