‘Agree on many things’: Donald Trump holds ‘extremely productive’ call with Canada PM amid trade faceoff | World News

United States (US) President Donald Trump said he held an “extremely productive” call Friday with Canadian Prime Miner Mark Carney, a day after the former Bank of England governor said the “old relationship with US is over”. Trump, who has ratcheted up trade tariff tensions and warned about annexing America’s northern neighbour, added that the two leaders had agreed to meet soon after Canada’s general election on April 28. Carney called snap-elections shortly after replacing Justin Trudeau two weeks ago.
“I just finished speaking with Prime Miner Mark Carney, of Canada. It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network. He added that they would be “meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada.”
Trump’s upbeat tone marked a sharp contrast with recent exchanges between Washington and Ottawa. Just a day earlier, Carney had declared that the era of deep economic, security, and military ties between Canada and the US “is over.” He also vowed to retaliate against Trump’s “unjustified” decision to impose steep tariffs on Canadian cars. The 25 per cent tariff on vehicle imports, set to take effect next week, poses a major threat to Canada’s auto industry, which supports an estimated 500,000 jobs.
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Carney further stated that he would not engage in substantive trade negotiations with Washington unless Trump showed Canada “respect,” particularly ending his repeated annexation threats. Since returning to office in January, Trump has repeatedly suggested that Canada should become the 51st US state.
Tensions escalated further on Wednesday when Trump warned Canada against working with the European Union to counter upcoming US tariffs. He stated that if Ottawa aligned with Brussels, it would face “large-scale tariffs, far larger than currently planned.”
Typically, a new Canadian prime miner prioritises a call with the US president soon after taking office, but this was the first direct contact between Trump and Carney since the latter assumed office on March 14.
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