CHALK TALKS WITH CHEESE
Canadian leader Trudeau arrives at White House for talks with Trump
WASHINGTON // Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau arrived at the White House yesterday for difficult trade and immigration talks with his political opposite, president Donald Trump. After striking up a muchflaunted “bromance” with Barack Obama, the youthful liberal leader is in Washington to woo a septuagenarian Republican, with whom he shares little in common.
The focus of discussions were Mr Trump’s determination to put “America first” and rip up the North America Free Trade Agreement ( Nafta), as well as differences over immigration. Mr Trump has followed the dictum that good fences make good neighbours – vowing to increase tariffs on imports, build a wall on the Mexican border and trying to ban migrants from several Muslim-majority nations.
The US-Canadian border is still open, but Mr Trump’s travel ban has called into question the “preclearance” system allowing Canadians to clear US Customs and immigration checks at their point of departure.
Mr Trudeau’s visit got off to an awkward start, when he arrived at the White House early and his limousine was forced to wait on the driveway for about five minutes before Mr Trump came out. The two then shook hands and headed into the Oval Office.
Mr Trudeau is the third foreign leader received by the Republican billionaire since he took office on January 20, following meetings with Britain’s Theresa May and Japan’s Shinzo Abe.
The US and Canadian leaders held round-table talks with businesswomen to discuss women in the workforce. The 45- year- old Canadian prime minister had pledged to speak “frankly and respectfully” with Mr Trump.
“Canada will always stay true to the values that have made us this extraordinary country, a place of openness,” Mr Trudeau said on Friday in Yellowknife, the capital of the country’s Northwest Territories. The economic ties between America and its northern neighbour, who have the world’s longest shared border, run deep – three quarters of Canada’s exports go to the US, and Canada is the top destination for exports from about 30 US states.
Renegotiating Nafta will not be simple and Mr Trudeau, a fervent supporter of free trade, has emphasised the importance of the tripartite pact for his country’s economy and warned against protectionism.
On Friday, he recalled “the fact that millions of good jobs on both sides of our border depend on the smooth flow of goods and services across the border”.
Mr Trump has not been specific on how he wants the talks to develop, but has repeatedly criticised the 23-year-old pact, calling it a “catastrophe” for American jobs and threatening to slap tariffs on imports from Mexico. Mr Trump and Mr Trudeau are a study in contrasts – their path to power, their political stripes, their style – they could not be more different.
Mr Trudeau, the son of a wellliked prime minister, came to power promising to “provide a positive and good government for Canadians” and enhance the country’s image abroad.
Manhattan property mogul Mr Trump won the White House in a shock November election victory over Hillary Clinton after painting a dark picture of a country in turmoil and vowing to put “America first”.
Welcomed with great fanfare to Washington nearly a year ago by Mr Obama, Mr Trudeau hailed the Democratic president’s leadership on climate change.
But it’s clear he will find a quite different take on the issue from Mr Trump, who counts several climate sceptics in his inner circle and seems determined to undo large parts of his predeces- sor’s legacy. So far, Mr Trudeau has not commented directly on Mr Trump’s controversial immigration order, which temporarily bans all refugees and travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.
But he made his stance clear in a tweet posted the day after Mr Trump signed his decree late last month.
“To those fleeing persecution, terror and war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength. # WelcomeToCanada,” Mr Trudeau wrote.
The pair do agree on the massive Keystone XL pipeline project, which would link Canada’s oil sands with US Gulf Coast refineries. The project had been blocked by Mr Obama, but has been given the green light by Mr Trump.
Mr Trudeau’s limousine was forced to wait on the driveway for about five minutes before Mr Trump came out