Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed to reporters that he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump “at length” on Monday, calling it a “good” conversation.
“We spoke at length on a wide range of issues, including on trade, but geopolitical, other issues, labour issues, et cetera,” Carney said ahead of a meeting with his cabinet on Wednesday.
Asked when Canadians can expect to see results from trade talks with the U.S., Carney didn’t put a timeline on it. Instead, he repeated his oft-cited line about how on average Canada has “the best trade deal of any country in the world,” because goods covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) are exempt from Trump’s tariffs.
“We have a team, a very senior team, the clerk of the Privy Council is there in Washington as we speak, that is meeting with U.S. counterparts,” Carney also said. “Don’t expect immediate white smoke on one of these strategic sectors, but that’s the type of conversation that we’re having, and we’ll continue to have as well.”
Trump launched what has become a protracted trade war in February when he implemented sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods. He’s since carved out an exemption for imports that are CUSMA-compliant.
But, he’s also set out to fully transform America’s global trade regime, imposing significant sectoral tariffs on steel and aluminum, autos, and copper. Those levies are stacked on top of any import taxes aimed at specific countries, such as Canada.
Canada and the U.S. have been in ongoing negotiations for a new economic and security deal for months, with Carney and his team insisting they’re prioritizing getting the “best deal” over a timely one.
Late last month, Carney announced Canada is dropping many of its counter-tariffs by exempting goods covered by CUSMA. Asked by reporters at the time whether Trump had assured him the move would help spur negotiations, the prime minister said “yes.”
CUSMA, meanwhile, is up for review next year.
