Trudeau raised key issues with Biden at summit
Buy American rhetoric among the topics raised at trilateral meetings
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he directly raised concerns about a proposed electric-vehicle tax credit, Buy American rhetoric and the crossborder Line 5 pipeline with U.S. President Joe Biden.
Trudeau made the remarks on following a trilateral summit with the American leader and his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador — the first so-called Three Amigos summit since 2016.
“This trip to D.C. has been extremely effective,” the prime minister told a news conference. “Our partnerships are strong and unwavering.”
Biden has offered no hints he was willing to budge on the controversial $12,500 tax credit for American-made electric vehicles, a proposed measure the Canadian industry has described as a potential body blow.
Trudeau said he stressed Canada’s concerns about the tax credit throughout the past two days of meetings with the Biden administration in Washington, D.C., highlighting the impact it would have on Canadian jobs and its auto industry.
“We’re going to continue to do the work necessary to not just highlight our position but find a solution,” he said.
Asked whether he was disappointed that no solution was reached, Trudeau said in any relationship as deep as that of Canada and the U.S., there are going to be challenges and he will continue to engage with the administration in constructive ways.
He said the Americans are “very aware” of Canada’s concerns and the threats the proposed tax credit poses to decades of integrated auto making that was enshrined in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the free-trade agreement that replaced NAFTA.
The Line 5 oil pipeline is another irritant between the two nations as the Biden administration has shown little enthusiasm for the project that has been the target of protests and legal actions in the U.S. The president’s tough Buy American language has also been a concern.
Trudeau was also asked during the news conference whether he was planning a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics, as the U.S. is considering. He said Canada has been engaging with global partners and as the Games approach, more information about Canada’s posture and that of the world will be released.
Thursday Biden offered the usual bilateral pleasantries as he welcomed Trudeau to the Oval Office, but the U.S. president appeared in no mood for compromises on the electric-vehicle tax credit.
“We’re going to talk about that to some extent,” Biden said. “We haven’t even passed it yet in the House … there’s a lot of complicating factors.”