The Trump administration is demanding what amounts to an “entry fee” from Canada to engage in trade talks toward a revised Canada-United States-Mexico Free Trade Agreement (CUSMA), four sources told Radio-Canada.
“The Americans are setting conditions before negotiations begin,” said one high-ranking individual familiar with the matter.
Three sources used the term “entry fee” to describe concessions the U.S. administration is seeking before formal trade talks begin.
The U.S. demand was also confirmed by former Quebec premier Jean Charest, who was appointed Tuesday to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new advisory committee on Canada-U.S. economic relations.
“[U.S. President Donald] Trump wants us to make a lot of concessions before we sit down at the table,” Charest told Radio-Canada. “Meanwhile, he wouldn’t make any.”
On the U.S. side, there are suggestions that Canada should try to get Trump’s attention by making an immediate concession, especially since the president is juggling several major issues right now.
However, Canadian sources said they have twice offered concessions to the U.S. administration without receiving anything in return.
On the way into a cabinet meeting Wednesday, Carney said the Canadian government has multiple levels of contacts with the U.S. administration that address different trade issues between the two countries.
“It’s not a case of the United States dictates the terms. We have a negotiation, we can come to a mutually successful outcome, it will take some time and we will take some time,” he said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney met with several premiers in Ottawa to talk trade with the U.S., including issues that could become hurdles during upcoming CUSMA negotiations.
Last spring, Ottawa dropped a significant portion of the reciprocal counter-tariffs it had put forward as a retaliatory measure against the tariffs on steel and aluminum imposed by Washington.
At the end of June, Canada also scrapped the digital services tax, which would have imposed a three per cent levy on the Canadian revenues of digital giants such as Amazon, Apple and Meta.
“The repeal of the digital services tax will significantly advance negotiations on a new economic and security partnership with the United States,” Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said at the time.
More than nine months later however, negotiations do not appear to have made any progress.
The source of the dispute
Washington has several grievances. In particular, the United States wants Canada to change the way it administers its dairy quotas and review its policies on digital sovereignty.
But alcohol remains one of Washington’s biggest pet peeves. The Trump administration is having a hard time accepting that most provinces across the country have removed American wine, beer and spirits from their shelves.
However, provinces including Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia have said they have no intention of backing down on the liquor ban.
“We need to secure real concessions from the Trump administration to put American alcohol back on [Quebec liquor store] shelves,” said a source in Quebec City familiar with the discussions.
According to this source, Ottawa and the provinces have discussed the alcohol issue and reached a consensus not to offer that concession to the Americans right away.
“We tell [Washington], ‘If we make concessions, if we take steps, you’ll do the same.’ And on that point, they’re not open to it at all. At least, not right now,” said another Canadian source familiar with the discussions.
In a new government video, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he’s inspired by the War of 1812 in his fight to diversify trade away from the U.S.
In March 2025, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick compared negotiations with the United States to purchasing a Costco membership: You have to pay before you can shop.
Behind the scenes in Ottawa, however, it has been pointed out that once they’ve paid for a membership, Costco customers aren’t then asked to pull out their wallet again just to walk down the meat aisle.
Playing for time?
According to former Canadian diplomat Louise Blais, who attended several meetings in Washington last week in her capacity as a strategic advisor to the Canadian Council on International Affairs, the Americans “perceive Canada as unwilling to come to the table.”
“The Canadian government seems to want to keep all its cards close to its chest and not give things away piecemeal … to retain all its leverage for a major negotiation,” she said.
“On the American side, what they’re saying today is that it’s Canada that doesn’t seem willing to come to the table in a meaningful way.”
Three sources have noted this apparent lack of urgency on Ottawa’s part since Christmas, suggesting that Canada is “playing for time.”
Before former Quebec premier François Legault stepped down, Carney told him explicitly that this slow approach was part of Ottawa’s strategy, according to a Quebec source.
If there’s any danger in playing for time too much, the Carney government does not seem to be panicking.
“We must not forget that we already have an agreement in place with the United States,” a Canadian source said.
