Canada will have a new chief trade negotiator with the United States during the upcoming review of North America’s free trade agreement, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Monday.
Janice Charette, 63, will be a senior adviser to Carney and to Dominic LeBranc, the minister who oversees U.S.-Canada trade matters, Carney’s office said in a statement.
“With four decades of experience in public policy and diplomacy, Janice Charette brings extraordinary leadership, expertise, and a deep commitment to advancing Canada’s interests,” Carney said, a day after Canada’s new U.S. ambassador began his term.
“As Chief Trade Negotiator, she will advance Canadian interests and a strengthened trade and investment relationship that benefits workers and industries in both Canada and the United States.”
Charette, who was previously head of Canada’s public service and Canada’s top diplomat to the United Kingdom, will take the lead during renegotiations of the USMCA, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which are due by July.
About 70 percent of Canada’s exports are destined for the U.S., according to Reuters, though the USMCA has protected many from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Canada’s government is looking for a 16-year extension of the USMCA, which came into effect in 2020, according to CTV News.
Last October, sector-specific trade talks—on steel, aluminum, and energy—broke down after Trump learned of an ad by the government of the province of Ontario that played a clip of Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.
After Ontario Premier Doug Ford suspended the ad, Trump was still bitter.
“I don’t want to meet with him,” Trump, 79, said of Carney. “No, I’m not going to be meeting with them for a while. I’m very happy with the deal we have right now with Canada. We’re going to let it ride.”
Carney, 60, responded by suggesting that Trump was getting emotional.
“In any complicated, high-stakes negotiation, you can get unexpected twists and turns, and you have to keep your cool during those situations,” said Carney, who has also had to fend off Trump’s bluster about buying Canada. “It doesn’t pay to be upset. Emotions don’t carry you very far.”
