Donald Trump's response to a new trade deal with Canada as he meets Mark Carney: ‘I would…’
The remarks came as Trump met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House during the latter's visit to Washington.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would "love" to sign a new trade agreement with Canada, whose current deal is due for renegotiation.
The remarks came as Trump met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House during the latter's visit to Washington. This is Carney's first overseas visit since winning the Canadian election about a week ago.
"I would love that," Trump said at the White House when asked if he would like the first trade deal he announced to be with Canada.
The existing United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free trade agreement is due for a review by 2026.
Just hours before welcoming Carney to the White House on Tuesday, Trump declared that America does not need anything from Canada. He took to TruthSocial and said, “I very much want to work with him, but cannot understand one simple TRUTH — Why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 Billion Dollars a year, in addition to giving them FREE Military Protection, and many other things."
“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, other than their friendship, which hopefully we will always maintain,” he added.
Donald Trump and Mark Carney on Canada merging with USA
As the US President and Canadian PM made an appearance, the subject of Donald Trump's repeated calls for Canada to merge with the United States as its 51st state quickly came up from reporters.
"We're not going to be discussing that unless somebody wants to discuss it. "It would really be a wonderful marriage," Trump said.
To this, Mark Carney responded firmly, saying, "It's not for sale, it won't be for sale - ever.
"Never say never, never say never," Trump responded.
The Republican's merger calls became a big issue in the recent Canadian elections and is said to be one of the reasons that Carney's Liberal Party managed to stay in power after earlier polls showed it trailing.