Washington // US president Donald Trump on Monday called for reciprocal trade with Canada and building bridges of commerce across the border, appearing to tone down previously harsh rhetoric on trade.
“America is deeply fortunate to have a neighbour like Canada,” Mr Trump told a joint press conference with visiting Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau at his side, hailing the opportunity to “build even more bridges” of commerce.
“We understand that both of our countries are stronger when we join forces in matters of international commerce,” Mr Trump said.
For his part, Mr Trudeau said the two nations – who with Mexico make up the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) – “will always remain each other’s most essential partner.”
“Today’s conversations have served to reinforce how important that is for both Canadians and Americans,” said Mr Trudeau.
Throughout his campaign and since his November election, the new Republican president has voiced his determination to put “America first” and rip up Nafta, which he has said is a “catastrophe” for American jobs.
The economic ties between America and its northern neighbour, who share the world’s longest common border, run deep: three-quarters of Canada’s exports go to the US, and Canada is the top destination for exports from about 30 US states.
Renegotiating Nafta will not be simple and Mr Trudeau, a fervent supporter of free trade, has emphasised the importance of the tripartite pact for his country’s economy and warned against protectionism.
Mr Trump has not been specific on how he wants the negotiations to develop.
“When we sit down as we did today and as our teams will be doing in the weeks and months to come, we will be talking about how we can continue to create good jobs for our citizens on both sides of the border,” Mr Trudeau said.
Mr Trump added: “We have a very outstanding trade relationship with Canada. We will be tweaking it. We will be doing certain things that are going to benefit both of our countries.
“It’s a much less severe situation than what’s taking place on the southern border. On the southern border, for many, many years the transaction was not fair to the United States.”
While the two leaders stressed shared interests, their contrasting views were also on display. Responding to questions from reporters, Mr Trump defended his refugee and immigration orders, saying that “we cannot let the wrong people in”. Mr Trudeau, on the other hand, said Canada continues to “pursue our policies of openness”.
Mr Trudeau later noted that there had been times when the two countries “have differed in our approaches”, but he said “the last thing Canadians expect is for me to come down and lecture another country on how they chose to govern themselves”.
Mr Trump greeted Mr Trudeau with a firm handshake as he arrived at the White House on a blustery morning. Mr Trudeau brought a personal gift – a photo of Mr Trump with Mr Trudeau’s father, the late Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau.
Mr Trump said he knew and respected Pierre Trudeau and would keep the photo in a “very special place”.
At a roundtable discussion with female executives from the US and Canada, Mr Trump and Mr Trudeau announced a task force focused on women in the workforce.
Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka was in attendance at the meeting and helped recruit participants and set the agenda. The high-profile meeting is evidence of her rising policy influence.
Mr Trudeau, 45, and Mr Trump, 70, have vastly different outlooks of the world.
The Canadian prime minister is a liberal who champions free trade and has welcomed 40,000 Syrian refugees. He calls himself a feminist and his cabinet is 50 per cent women. Mr Trump has few women in his cabinet. He has taken a protectionist stance on trade and wants to crack down on the inflow of migrants and refugees.
Mr Trudeau’s close cooperation with Mr Trump and the US first daughter on women in business could ease some worries among Canadians that the US president will enact protectionist measures that could hurt the Canadian economy. It could also alleviate some fears that Mr Trump will be as combative with Mr Trudeau as he has been with the leaders of Mexico and Australia.
A Canadian official said Mr Trudeau’s administration had suggested the task force, because the prime minister considers the issue of working women an important part of his agenda and economic growth plan.
“It’s a smart thing if Canada proposed this,” said Nelson Wiseman, a professor at the University of Toronto. “It takes attention off of Nafta. And from Trump’s point of view, it contributes to softening Trump’s image, and he’s got a problem with women.”
Roland Paris, a former senior foreign policy adviser to Mr Trudeau, said the prime minister needs to build a relationship with Mr Trump to ensure Canada is not shut out economically.
“The overriding priority will be for Canada to maintain secure and reliable access to the US market and the supply chains that crisscross the border,” Mr Paris said.
Mr Trudeau has been preparing for his meeting with Mr Trump for months. He will also meet with legislative leaders on Capitol Hill.
* Agence France-Presse and Associated Press
