Trump call was 'constructive and productive,' Carney says
Carney fields calls with President Trump, Canada's premiers as Canada faces down U.S. trade war
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OTTAWA — It was a call that was both constructive and productive.
That’s how Liberal Leader Mark Carney described his phone call Friday morning with U.S. President Donald Trump, the first time the two leaders had spoken since Carney became Prime Minister earlier this month.
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“We made progress — it’s the beginning of negotiations,” Carney said during a Friday afternoon news conference at the Port of Montreal.
“We will have comprehensive discussions on the broader economic partnership after the federal election.”
The call comes just days after the U.S. President signed an executive order enacting a 25% tariff on all imported autos and parts, to come into effect April 2.
Trump, however, made no indications he would reverse course on his threat of tariffs on non-U.S. autos, steel or aluminum, Carney said.
“This is the start of a process,” Carney said.
In a social media post, the U.S. President said the two “agree on many things,” and in a stark change of tone referred to Carney as Canada’s prime minister, and not the “governor of the 51st state.”
Carney described the spirit and tone of the call as very “cordial,” and focused on making progress — adding that Trump “respected Canada’s sovereignty today, both in his private and public comments.”
“We will see what the U.S. does on the second of April, it is still the case of course that there are tariffs on a number of other Canadian goods,” Carney said.
Also on the tariff front, Carney chaired a 90-minute virtual meeting of Canada’s premiers earlier on Friday, a call that covered Canada’s retaliation to Trump’s trade war, as well as the path forward in bolstering Canada’s economy.
“It was for me to debrief the premiers on where we stood,” he said.
“In both respects, it was very timely and helpful to have those discussions.”
bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume
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