Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney and US President, Donald Trump have met at the White House.
This is Carney’s second visit to the White House in five months as he deals with increasing pressure to address US tariffs on steel, autos and other goods that are hurting Canada’s economy.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, sitting next to Carney, “From the beginning, I liked him, and we’ve had a good relationship.”
“We have natural conflict. We also have mutual love … you know we have great love for each other.”
Donald Trump
He stated that the two men would discuss tariffs including potentially lowering tariffs on key Canadian sectors as part of efforts to ease trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa.
A Canadian government official and several Analysts played down the chances of an imminent trade deal with Trump and said that the mere fact that discussions are continuing should be considered a success for Carney.
Among the topics up for discussion are trade and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which is critical to Canada’s economy and is up for a review next year.
More than 77 percent of Canada’s exports go to the US. While the majority of Canada’s exports are entering the US tariff-free under the USMCA, tariffs have pummeled Canada’s steel, aluminium and auto sectors and a number of small businesses.
Trump stated that he was willing to revisit the free trade agreement, which was enacted during his first term, or seek “different deals.”
“We could renegotiate it, and that would be good, or we can just do different deals. We’re allowed to do different deals.”
Donald Trump
Trump exhibited a fondness for Carney, something he didn’t display toward Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau. He described Carney as a “world-class leader” and said that he’s a tough negotiator.
The Prime Minister last visited the Oval Office in May, when he bluntly told Trump that Canada would never be for sale in response to Trump’s repeated threat to purchase or annex Canada.
Since then, the Prime Minister has made numerous concessions to Canada’s biggest trading partner, including dropping some counter tariffs and scrapping a digital services tax aimed at US tech companies.
Carney’s Visit To Focus On Forging New Economic, Security Ties With US
Carney’s office has said the working visit will focus on forging a new economic and security relationship with the US. “In areas where we compete, we have to come to an agreement that works, ” Carney said.
Jonathan Kalles, a former Adviser to Carney’s predecessor, Trudeau, “The reality is that right now, Canadian products have among the lowest tariff rate.” He stated, “You don’t want to poke the bear when things could be much worse,” adding that any meeting with Trump is a calculated risk.
“Carney will probably get a better deal through private negotiations, not the pomp and ceremony of going to the White House.”
Jonathan Kalles
Asa McKercher, a specialist in Canada-US relations at St Francis Xavier University, said that Carney’s meeting with Trump would be a success if there is any recognition that Canada has moved to address some of Trump’s persistent grievances.
Carney is under growing pressure. He won an election in April promising to be tough with Trump and secure a new economic relationship with the US.
Shachi Kurl, President of the Angus Reid Institute, said that polls show Canadians have largely been willing to give Carney time to deal with Trump. “But that amount of time is finite,” Kurl said, noting pressure may build with job losses mounting and economic growth hobbled by US tariffs.
Canada’s opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, has criticised Carney’s approach to Trump, noting the Prime Minister’s earlier pledge to “negotiate a win” by July 21. He said on Monday that it did not look like Carney would accomplish much in the trip.
Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister responsible for Canada-US trade, said in response that Canada has work to do on sectoral tariffs.
