WATCH: Trump says U.S., Canada have ‘different concepts’ for trade deal
President Donald Trump said Monday that he and Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney have different concepts for trade between the two neighboring countries but hope to reach an agreement soon.
Trump met with Carney at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, in the Canadian Rockies. Trump dominated the brief news conference, and Carney essentially let Trump lead the conversation with reporters ahead of the meeting.
Asked what was holding up a trade deal between the two nations, Trump said they had different concepts for what that would look like.
“It’s not so much holding up, I think we have different concepts, I have a tariff concept, Mark has a different concept, which is something that some people like, but we’re going to see if we can get to the bottom of it today.”
Trump continued: “I’m a tariff person, I’ve always been a tariff person. It’s simple. It’s easy. It’s precise and it just goes very quickly. And I think Mark has a more complex idea, but also very good, so we’re going to look at both and we’re going to come out with something hopefully.”
Trump said a deal was “achievable” quickly, but didn’t give a more precise timeline.
Shortly after taking office in January, Trump hit Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs for allowing fentanyl and migrants to cross their borders into the U.S. Trump later applied those 25% tariffs only to goods that fall outside the free-trade agreement between the three nations, called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Trump put a 10% tariff on non-USMCA compliant potash and energy products. A 50% tariff on aluminum and steel imports from all countries into the U.S. has been in effect since June 4. Trump also put a 25% tariff on all cars and trucks not built in the U.S.
The tariffs have frustrated Canadian leaders and residents. Tensions between the two neighboring countries have been high.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that Canada join the U.S. as its 51st state. He previously called former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “governor” regularly.
Economists, businesses and some publicly traded companies have warned that tariffs could raise prices on a wide range of consumer products.
Trump has said he wants to use tariffs to restore manufacturing jobs lost to lower-wage countries in decades past, shift the tax burden away from U.S. families, and pay down the national debt.
A tariff is a tax on imported goods paid by the person or company that imports the goods. The importer can absorb the cost of the tariffs or try to pass the cost on to consumers through higher prices.
