U.S. President Donald Trump greets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney upon arrival at the White House in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
Prime Minister Mark Carney made his second trip to the White House since May, taking questions in the Oval Office ahead of a working luncheon Tuesday afternoon.
In his remarks, U.S. President Donald Trump spoke of a “mutual love” between Canada and the United States that’s also tempered by a “natural conflict” over trade.
Mr. Carney, meanwhile, left the White House in his motorcade early Tuesday afternoon, without taking questions.
From Mr. Trump praising Mr. Carney as a “world-class leader” to suggesting he might pursue separate trade deals with Canada and Mexico, here are four key moments from the Prime Minister’s meeting.
Trump expresses ambivalence about future of USMCA
Mr. Trump suggested he might abandon the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, which is up for review next year, and instead seek to strike separate deals with Canada and Mexico.
“We can renegotiate and that would be good, or we can just do different deals. We’re allowed to do different deals if we want,” Mr. Trump said. “I don’t care. I want to make whatever the best deal is for this country, and also very much with Canada in mind.”
The three parties have already launched domestic consultations on the continental free-trade pact.
Decoder: U.S. tariff revenue piles up as Canada abandons tit-for-tat trade war approach
As tariffs continue to mount, Mr. Carney has repeatedly noted that the bulk of Canada’s trade - about 85 per cent - with the U.S. remains duty free, thanks to the USMCA exemption. The U.S. average tariff rate on Canadian goods sits at 5.6 per cent, he said, which makes it the lowest among all its trading partners.
Still, the Trump administration maintains sector-specific tariffs, known as Section 232 tariffs, which are taking a toll on industries, such as steel and aluminum, which face 50-per-cent levies on imports.
Mr. Trump says there’s a 'natural business conflict' between Canada and the U.S. over trade in cars and steel.
Carney pushes back at Trump’s ‘conflict’ comment
When pressed on why he has failed to reach deal with Canada, Mr. Trump suggested relations were complicated by a “natural conflict,” even if there’s mutual love between the two countries.
The U.S. President cited auto and steel as sources of conflict, saying production isn’t limited to domestic demand.
Mr. Carney gently pushed back at the idea of a “conflict,” saying the countries’ shared interests are greater.
“There are areas where we compete, and it’s in those areas where we have to come to an agreement that works. But there are more areas where we are stronger together, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
It wasn’t the only instance Mr. Carney had to carefully manage his response to the mercurial U.S. President, who revived his talk of annexing Canada in jest.
Mr. Trump jokingly interjected to say the “merger” of their two countries would be the “most important” peace effort in the world. Mr. Carney replied that “wasn’t where I was going.” The Prime Minister had been referring to Mr. Trump’s effort to negotiate a peace deal between Hamas and Israel.
Mr. Trump hailed Mr. Carney as a 'world-class leader' on Tuesday.
The Associated Press
Carney, Trump exchange compliments
Mr. Carney was effusive in his praise of Mr. Trump, calling him a “transformative president” both at home and abroad through his ability to strike “unprecedented” peace deals with several countries and who had achieved economic success.
The U.S. President reciprocated, calling Mr. Carney a “world-class leader” who “knows what he wants.”
He also said Canada has “worked hard” on ending the flow of fentanyl across the border, which the administration has cited for imposing some of Mr. Trump’s tariffs.
Carney floats $1-trillion investment
Mr. Carney told Mr. Trump that Canada would make an estimated $1-trillion worth of investments in the United States in the next five years, if Canada gets the 'deal we expect to get' from the U.S.
Mr. Carney told Mr. Trump Canada was prepared to make an estimated US$1-trillion worth of investments in the U.S. in the next five years, if it gets the “deal we expect to get.”
Taking a page from the playbook of other U.S. trading partners, Canadian officials have been tallying prospective investment that business or government would make in the U.S.
Mr. Trump said the two countries are “working on formulas” to get the details right, an apparent reference to the idea of a tariff-rate quota on Canadian autos.
With reports from Steven Chase, Adrian Morrow, Robert Fife and the Associated Press