What Trump and Carney mentioned over lunch in Washington, in response to a senior official

After their Oval Workplace encounter underneath the glare of the TV lights, Prime Minister Mark Carney and his U.S. counterpart retreated to the Roosevelt Room for a working lunch on Tuesday. A lot of the mealtime chatter was about international coverage points, in response to a senior Canadian official.

The 2 leaders bought alongside fairly properly, the official mentioned, and the president burdened in the beginning and finish of the luncheon that it was an honour to host the brand new prime minister on the White Home.

Trump mentioned on the time he regarded the day’s discussions as “nice” — matching feedback he later informed the White Home press pool.

“He is a pleasant man. We get alongside very properly. We had an awesome assembly as we speak — actually. I believe the connection’s going to be very sturdy,” Trump mentioned of Carney.

Whereas there have been niceties, Carney was clear with Trump in personal, as he was in his public statements earlier than the press, that Canada and the U.S. coming collectively as one nation is a non-starter, in response to the official, who spoke to CBC Information and different reporters travelling with the prime minister on background and with the situation that they not be named.

Carney informed reporters he personally requested Trump to cease with the annexationist discuss.

WATCH | Carney mentioned he pushed for tariffs to be lifted: 

Carney says he ‘pressed the case’ for tariffs to be lifted in assembly with Trump

Throughout a information convention in Washington following his assembly with U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Mark Carney mentioned he’s making the case for tariffs to be eliminated and that ‘appreciable efforts’ have been made to extend border safety, particularly relating to fentanyl. Carney added there may be ‘extra work to do’ in making the case that tariffs aren’t good for Individuals both.

However the Canadian delegation left the assembly with a clearer understanding that the president actually thinks it will be a good suggestion for Canada to change into the 51st state — these should not simply feedback designed to impress, the official mentioned.

Trump, nonetheless, conceded it “takes two to tango” and it is not prone to occur with the overwhelming majority of individuals on this nation steadfastly opposed.

The prime minister additionally relayed to the president over lunch that his tariffs on Canadian items want to be dismantled if there’s going to be a brand new buying and selling association between the 2 nations, as each leaders mentioned there must be, the official mentioned. Any commerce “deal” for Canada should embrace the U.S. lifting its tariffs.

Whereas Carney, his group and most Canadians at dwelling had been seized with the 51st state taunts and Trump’s punishing tariffs, the president himself was keen to interrupt bread with Carney and focus on international points which are unfolding on his watch, particularly the Russia-Ukraine conflict, hostility with China and the scenario in Iran, the official mentioned.

The official mentioned Trump needed to get Carney’s perspective on points that the president is preoccupied with as he tries to fulfil his marketing campaign promise to swiftly carry the conflict on Ukraine to an finish and tamp down Iran’s nuclear ambitions — two points which are proving to be significantly difficult for the administration.

Trump additionally requested Carney to weigh in on Israel and Gaza — though there was comparatively little discuss that difficulty, the official mentioned — and the Houthis in Yemen, which the president spoke about at some size in entrance of the White Home cameras within the public portion of their get-together.

The truth that the president sought enter from Carney on these information was seen, the official mentioned, as an “encouraging signal” that Trump respects Canada’s new chief and regards him as a worthy equal.

It is regular for world leaders to debate international coverage points and bounce concepts off each other, and Trump’s willingness to try this with Carney at their first assembly was one other proof level that the day was a relative success, the official mentioned.

Trump didn’t have a selected ask from Canada on these international information, the official mentioned.

WATCH | Carney calls Trump assembly ‘constructive’: 

Carney calls Trump assembly ‘constructive,’ however U.S. tariffs stay

Prime Minister Mark Carney known as his first face-to-face assembly with U.S. President Donald Trump ‘wide-ranging’ and ‘constructive,’ regardless of Trump saying there’s nothing Canada can do to take away U.S. tariffs.

Whereas international affairs took up a big a part of the luncheon, Carney and Trump additionally spoke about points nearer to dwelling, together with fentanyl — the obvious motive why the U.S. slapped massive tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China earlier this yr.

The official mentioned Trump is personally very “conversant” on the problem and the 2 leaders had a reasonably detailed dialogue about cartels and the availability chains which are fuelling the drug disaster. In Canada alone there have been 50,928 obvious opioid toxicity deaths since 2016.

One in all Trump’s senior advisers, Stephen Miller, was readily available for the lunch and spoke concerning the drug difficulty as properly, the official mentioned.

Carney used the fentanyl portion of the dialog to once more gently press the purpose that Canada is simply not a significant supply of the drug, and the federal government’s billion-dollar border plan has resulted in a significant decline within the movement of unlawful narcotics and migrants, the official mentioned.

The most recent figures from U.S. Customs and Border Safety (CBP) present 5 kilograms of fentanyl have been seized on the northern U.S. border to date this yr — in contrast 3,040 kilograms on the southwestern one.

Canada’s border progress ought to outcome within the fentanyl-related tariffs being lifted, Carney informed Trump, in response to the official.

It is clear that will probably be a dialog for an additional day, the official mentioned.

WATCH | Carney ‘handed the check,’ says former diplomat: 

Carney ‘handed the check’ of Trump’s Oval Workplace gauntlet, says former diplomat

Former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson says expertise and preparation had been important for Prime Minister Mark Carney to navigate his assembly with U.S. President Donald Trump within the White Home.

Moreover fentanyl, the president confirmed a selected curiosity within the Arctic, the official mentioned.

And, at one level, the dialog hinged on vitality and important minerals — matters Canada is all the time blissful to speak about as a result of it exhibits the Individuals that this bilateral relationship isn’t just about commerce but in addition safety and defence, the official mentioned.

In his public remarks, Trump mentioned he was happy to listen to Canada will spend extra on defence and acknowledged the nation buys loads of U.S.-made gear.

“We’re defending Canada in case you ever had an issue,” he mentioned.