TMTPOST -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday expressed optimism on a trade deal with Canada in sight during the annual G7 meeting held in Kananaskis, Alberta.
Credit：the White House
Trump self-proclaimed as 「a tariff person」 when he kicked off the G7 summit with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney this week. "I'm a tariff person. I've always been a tariff person," said the president.
Trump suggested he expected U.S. would make a deal with Canada even though Carney has disagreements with his administration. Asked whether a deal is achievable in days or weeks, Trump agreed. He said he and Carney have different views on tariffs, but the two governments will seek some progress in resolving their trade dispute.
「I think we have different concepts. I have a tariff concept,」 Trump said. 「Mark has a different concept, which is something that some people like - but we』re going to see if we can get to the bottom of it today.」 Trump saw a trade deal is 「achievable」 though there are different concepts of what the deal might look like.
Trump and Carney held a face-to-face meeting about 30 minutes during the G7 summit. And some senior U.S. and Canadian officials, including U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, held talks following the meeting between two leaders, and they agreed to resume their talks later this week. Canada』s International Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc,who overseas affairs international trade affairs, and the Canadian ambassador to the US, Kirsten Hillman said they』re confident Canada and the U.S. made progress on their trade dispute at Monday morning.
The meeting on Monday is Trump』s second in-person meeting with Carny since they took office. Carney said on May 6he had wide-ranging and constructive discussions with Trump, though the two leaders exposed their disputes on the 「51st state」 and trade issues when they met in the White House that day.
Trump repeated annexation threats toward Canada, which he said would be a "wonderful marriage" and called the border between the two countries "artificial" again. He said it would be best for Canada as the "51st state" of the United States with a lot of advantage, tax cut and free military. Carney jumped in, saying that Canada is "never for sale." "Never say never," quipped Trump, "time will tell."
On trade issues, Trump said Carney can't say anything to lift tariffs. "Just the way it is," said the president, who also made a statement on his Truth Social platform minutes before Carney's arrival, denigrating the importance of Canada to the U.S. economy. "We don't need their Cars, we don't need their Energy, we don't need their Lumber, we don't need ANYTHING they have. They, on the other hand, need EVERYTHING from us!" wrote Trump.
Trump said the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is a "transitional step" that "terminates fairly shortly," making no commitment to its renewal. Carney said the agreement is the "basis for a broader negotiation," adding that parts of it may change and other elements might be added during a potential renegotiation. While Trump made it clear that the tariffs, especially those on the auto sector, would stay in place, Carney said, "We'll see."
USMCA is a trade agreement that Trump's first administration negotiated to replace the decades-old North American Free Trade Agreement. The United States has put in place a 25% tariff on all goods, and 10% on energy and potash that isn't covered by USMCA. There's another 25% levy on Canadian steel and aluminum, and 25% on automobiles that aren't covered by USMCA.
