(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney meet on Tuesday at the White House for a high-stakes, and possibly tense, meeting amid a tariff trade war between the two neighbors and allies.
The two leaders will greet each other at 11:30 a.m. ET and then hold a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office.
Carney’s visit comes off the heels of his election win to replace Justin Trudeau that was fueled, in part, by his anti-Trump platform.
After his victory, Carney warned Canadians: “Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never, that will never ever happen.”
Trump, meanwhile, has taken relentless aim at Canada since returning to office in January. He’s threatened to make Canada the 51st state and slapped steep tariffs on the nation, which is one of the United States’ biggest trading partners.
Trump has said he’s “not sure” what the prime minister wants to discuss but added that Canada “wants to make a deal,” while Carney said on Friday that they will focus on “trade pressures and the broader future economic and security relationship.”
“I’m not pretending these discussions will be easy — they won’t proceed in a straight line,” Carney said last week. “There will be ups and downs, zigzags along the way. But as I said in my remarks, I will fight for the best possible deal for Canada. I will only accept what’s in the best interest of Canadians, and I will take as much time as necessary to achieve that.”
The historically friendly relationship between the U.S. and Canada is now on edge. Trump and Carney’s face-to-face meeting in the Oval Office could yield progress on easing tariffs or strain the relationship even further.
One advantage for Carney compared to his predecessor going into this meeting is his lack of history with Trump. Trudeau left his post with a bruised relationship with the president, who Trump repeatedly trolled as “governor” rather than prime minister. The two leaders were unable to work out a tariff deal.
A 25% tariff imposed by Trump remains in place for Canadian goods that are not compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (or USMCA) as well as a 10% tariff on Canadian oil imports and 25% tariff on all cars, auto parts, steel and aluminum.
Canada’s retaliatory action includes a 25% tariff on vehicles imported from the U.S. that are not compliant with USMCA. In March, Canada imposed $21 billion worth of retaliatory tariffs were applied on items like American orange juice, whiskey, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products.
Canada also has a lot to lose if Trump follows through with threat to impose 100% tariffs on films produced outside the U.S.
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