Washington and Ottawa attempt trade truce with renewed talks

WASHINGTON (TNND) — From farms to cities, Americans and Canadians have felt the economic impact of a tense and lengthy trade war. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent commitment to restart talks could bring the allies closer to normalized economic ties.

Trump and Carney each confirmed they spoke over the weekend, but the leaders struck different tones about what a deal could entail and the level of certainty that one will be made.

In a social media post Sunday, Carney said he and Trump had a good conversation that “builds on our recent constructive discussions on the outlines of a mutually beneficial trade deal that would create jobs for our workers, boost affordability for families, and fully respect Canada’s languages, culture, and sovereignty. Our teams will now be working in the coming weeks to deliver that outcome.”

That same day, Trump told reporters, “We have the concept of a very good deal with Canada,” which he said included a revival of the Keystone XL pipeline to be financed by Canada and an agreement that farmers will not have to pay tariffs.

Talks between Washington and Ottawa have been on and off for the past year and a half. Over that period, there have been instances when Trump and Carney appeared close to a trade deal, only for negotiations to break down. Canada also used that time to reduce its economic reliance on the United States by brokering trade deals and strengthening alliances with more than 20 other nations and the European Union.

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During an interview in the days leading up to his recent conversation with Trump, Carney laid out his priorities.

“We will conclude a deal that’s in Canada’s interest when one is available, and we can do it this afternoon. We know the broad outlines of that, that’s a mutually advantageous trade deal with the U.S. and Canada,” Carney said, adding that he believes the most advantageous deal is the existing USMCA, which Trump negotiated during his first term with the leaders of Mexico and Canada. Earlier this year, Trump declined to renew it in its current form. “But in an environment of the new trade policy of the United States, there are still things where, given the starting point, they’re very much win-win for the two countries and we can conclude that rapidly. But we’re not going to conclude something for the sake of concluding it.”

While Carney appears open to brokering a deal with the current White House, he said he’s willing to wait for the next American president to take office “if that’s what it takes.”