By Paul Vieira
OTTAWA--Canada's chief U.S. trade negotiator said her mandate is to preserve the key elements of the existing North American trade treaty, with no intention to significantly revise or rewrite the pact's terms.
Janice Charette said she doesn't expect an agreement among the parties before July 1, when a formal U.S.-led review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade treaty, or USMCA, is set to begin in earnest.
She added that she is also seeking relief from hefty U.S. tariffs of up to 50% on key industrial sectors such as steel, automobiles, and aluminum. Canada is America's largest supplier of both steel and aluminum.
"My instructions are very much about protecting the fundamentals of this agreement, not revisiting them," Charette said at a conference organized by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
"There is no need to renegotiate, there's no need to open [the treaty] up and change the fundamental underpinnings of it," she said. "It is a robust agreement," she added.
Charette spoke during a moderated talk with Candace Laing, the head of the Canadian chamber, who on Tuesday was appointed by Prime Minister Mark Carney to a panel to advise federal officials on U.S.-Canada relations. That panel also includes some blue-chip Canadian chief executive officers.
Analysts fear that tension between Ottawa and Washington on trade are putting the two countries on a collision course. They argue that is reflected in the stalemate in talks to date between the U.S. and Canada, relative to advanced discussions between Washington and Mexico City.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said there have been obstacles in discussions with Canada, and those have yet to be resolved. U.S. officials, such as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, say President Trump believes USMCA is a poor trade deal that needs to be revisited and reimagined. Lutnick has specifically criticized Canada's efforts to fortify trade ties with China, America's biggest geopolitical rival.
The original North American trade pact was renegotiated at Trump's behest during his first term, and at the time he said the revised pact marked a success.
Prime Minister Carney appointed Charette, formerly Canada's chief bureaucrat, as the top trade negotiator in USMCA talks. Over the weekend, Carney released a video statement on YouTube, in which he said Canada's close ties to the U.S. now represent an economic weakness. Some veteran trade watchers said the prime minister may be setting the stage for USMCA talks to fail.
Charette's remarks indicate Canada "is basically daring Trump to blow USMCA up and they think Congress or the courts will preserve the deal," Mark Warner, a trade lawyer who advises clients in Toronto and New York, said. "I think Canada is playing for time and daring Trump to act," he added.
The Canadian trade negotiator said a resolution with the U.S. would take time. She added that Canada has already made significant concessions, among them revoking a digital-services tax that was opposed by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, and dropping most retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports imposed by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"We could face some turbulence," she said. "We need to hold our nerve."
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-21-26 2009ET
