Carney takes aim at U.S. trade irritants as rhetoric around CUSMA heats up

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed back on the U.S. administration’s list of trade irritants heading into the review of the Canada-United-States-Mexico-Agreement (CUSMA), noting Canada has a few of its own.

“You know what’s an irritant? 50 per cent tariff on steel, 50 per cent tariff on aluminum, 25 per cent tariff on automobiles, all the tariffs on forest products,” said Carney, during a press conference in Ottawa.

“Those are more than irritants,” he added. “Those are violations of our trade deal.”

The existing CUSMA trade pact runs until 2036, but it includes a clause that allows the three countries to exit with six months’ notice. The deal is set to be reviewed in July 2026. The Mexicans are currently further along in negotiations with the Americans, with the first official bilateral negotiating round set to take place in Mexico City in late May. 

“We’re ready to go into detailed negotiations,” the prime minister said. “We’re also ready to wait, if that’s what has to happen.”

Carney faced several questions on the state of trade talks with the U.S, following comments by United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Tuesday, that highlighted his administration’s growing frustration with a U.S. alcohol ban in several Canadian provinces.

Greer told a committee of lawmakers in Washington the administration is at the “end of our rope in just asking for them to do this” and said they may have to use an “enforcement action” to deal with the issue.

The federal government has said the decision to keep U.S. alcohol off the shelves remains with the provinces. Currently all provinces, except for Alberta and Saskatchewan, have banned the sale of U.S. booze.

In a post on X, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said American alcohol “will only go back on shelves when the U.S. removes its tariffs.”

Carney said he respects the premier’s stance on the dispute.

“He’s got a majority, and he’s taking a view…by most indications, is supported by the vast majority of the population,” said Carney.

Speaking generally about the state of the Canada-U.S. trade relationship, the prime minister said there is a “misimpression” that Canada is very reliant on the U.S.

“Yes, it is our biggest trading partner by far,” said Carney “We are also their second biggest trading partner, there is a symbiosis between the two.”

Carney added that he doesn’t get up first thing in the morning “thinking about the United States” instead remaining focused on Canadians.

Opposition parties took aim at Carney’s trade strategy with the U.S.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told reporters on Wednesday that Carney squandered all of Canada’s leverage going into the CUSMA review, by removing the digital sales tax and the retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods last summer.

The opposition leader said Carney should not squander any more leverage when asked about the provincial U.S. alcohol.

“But let’s also focus on the reality that we’re talking about 2.6 million Canadian jobs that could be ruptured if we don’t get this right,” said Poilievre. “I don’t think we need spend three or four days debating whether we should drink bourbon or not.”

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said to “play the clock” on negotiations may not be the best strategy, noting that waiting for U.S. President Donald Trump to lose at least one of the two chambers in congress during the midterms, may not translate into a stronger negotiating position for Canada.

“It might be a naïve way to see the way Mr. Trump thinks or acts,” he said, during a press conference in Ottawa. “Let’s use this opportunity to start a real negotiation.”

National Post

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