Canadian PM talks trade with Trump at the White House

President Donald Trump has praised the “outstanding” trade relationship between the United States and Canada, saying he would only be “tweaking” it.

The comments were received positively by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, who came to the United States seeking to ensure Canada was not crippled as Mr Trump renegotiates the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).

The neighbouring leaders took up the thorny subjects of trade and immigration at their first face-to-face meeting yesterday.

“We have a very outstanding trade relationship with Canada. We’ll be tweaking it,” Mr Trump told reporters.

“We’ll be doing certain things that are going to benefit both of our countries. It’s a much less severe situation than what’s taking place on the southern border.”

At a joint news conference after their meetings, the two emphasised their shared goals. Mr Trump pledged to work with Canada “in pursuit of our many shared interests”.

Mr Trudeau spoke of a special bond and the “deep abiding respect” between the two countries, though he also said that “relationships between neighbours are pretty complex”.

While the two leaders stressed shared interests, their contrasting views were also on display. Responding to questions from reporters, Mr Trump defended his refugee and immigration orders, saying that “we cannot let the wrong people in”. Mr Trudeau, on the other hand, said Canada continues to “pursue our policies of openness”.

Mr Trudeau later noted that there have been times when the two countries “have differed in our approaches”. But he said “the last thing Canadians expect is for me to come down and lecture another country on how they chose to govern themselves”.

Picture: Getty. President Trump, right, and President Trudeau at a news conference.