The United States is demanding significant concessions from Canada before formally entering negotiations to review the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.
Sources described the U.S. approach as requiring an “entry fee,” with Washington setting conditions before talks even begin. Former Quebec premier Jean Charest, now part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s advisory committee on Canada-U.S. economic relations, confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking concessions upfront without offering reciprocal commitments.
Canadian officials say Ottawa has already made efforts to ease tensions, including rolling back retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum and scrapping a proposed digital services tax targeting major tech firms. Despite these moves, progress toward formal negotiations has stalled.
Key sticking points remain, including U.S. concerns over Canada’s dairy quota system and digital sovereignty policies. Another major source of friction is the removal of American alcohol products from store shelves in several provinces — a move Washington strongly opposes.
However, Canadian provinces such as Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia have signalled they are not willing to reverse the alcohol restrictions without meaningful concessions from the U.S. Officials stress that any compromise must be reciprocal.
While some observers suggest Canada should act quickly to re-engage the U.S., others indicate Ottawa is deliberately taking a cautious approach to preserve negotiating leverage. Sources say the federal government is “playing for time,” emphasizing that an existing trade agreement remains in place and there is no immediate urgency to concede.
