Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney is flying to Washington Monday for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump to seek a deal to end or reduce U.S. tariffs.
Mr. Carney will meet with Mr. Trump at the White House Tuesday before returning home the next day, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
This will be the Prime Minister’s second trip to the White House since taking office this year. After his last meeting with Mr. Trump in May, Mr. Carney emerged without any measurable progress in ending a costly trade war but also avoided any sign of conflict with the mercurial U.S. President.
U.S. tariff revenue piles up as Canada abandons tit-for-tat trade war approach
Canada, Mexico and the United States are preparing for a scheduled review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, with the Trump administration expected to seek more concessions for U.S. industry.
The U.S. envoy to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, recently said the Trump administration had hoped to negotiate a grander bargain with Canada than simply a renewal of the USMCA – a deal that would have encompassed a multitude of issues, including defence, energy and autos.
Canada is in talks with the U.S. over Mr. Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defence system, which would connect the U.S.’s existing missile defences and expand them, even adding defences in outer space.
LeBlanc hopes to make progress on steel, aluminum tariff relief before USMCA review
Since returning to office earlier this year, Mr. Trump has hit Canada with a string of tariffs: 50 per cent on steel and aluminum, 25 per cent on autos – with a carveout for U.S. parts – and 35 per cent on any goods traded outside the USMCA, with the exception of oil, gas and potash, which are subject to 10-per-cent tariffs.
On Sept. 30, Mr. Trump imposed a new 10-per-cent tariff on Canadian softwood lumber shipments, raising the total levy on softwood from Canada to more than 45 per cent. Upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities also face new tariffs of 25 per cent, effective Oct. 14.