After his first face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he only plans to 鈥渢weak鈥� the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada, while his administration has a lot more work to do with Mexico.

Trump鈥檚 comments at a joint news conference are likely to provide some relief to Canada鈥檚 business leaders, who have been anxious about the president鈥檚 repeated promises to either renegotiate NAFTA or scrap it altogether.

In addressing reporters at the White House, both Trump and Trudeau praised the strong relationship between Canada and the United States, and said they will continue to build on current cross-border trade and security agreements.

鈥淲e have a very outstanding trade relationship with Canada. We鈥檒l be tweaking it, we鈥檒l be doing certain things that are going to benefit both of our countries,鈥� Trump said when asked about NAFTA.  

鈥淚t鈥檚 a much less severe situation than what鈥檚 taken place on the southern border,鈥� he said, adding that trade transactions with Mexico have been 鈥渆xtremely unfair鈥� to the United States over the years.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to work with Mexico, we鈥檙e going to make it a fair deal for both parties,鈥� Trump said.

The president said his administration is aiming for 鈥渆asier, faster trade鈥� with America鈥檚 northern neighbour.

鈥淲e are going to have a great relationship with Canada, maybe as good or better, hopefully, than ever before.鈥�

Trudeau said that the U.S. and Canada are 鈥渇undamentally linked鈥� as neighbours in a unique relationship.

"We fought in conflict zones together, negotiated environmental treaties together ... and we've entered into ground-breaking economic partnerships that have created good jobs for both of our peoples,鈥� he said.

, the two leaders said they will work on their countries鈥� common interests, including labour mobility, energy, and border security.

The statement also specifically mentions establishing a preclearance system for cargo crossing the border, as well as the expansion of current preclearance procedures for Canadian and American travellers.  

Asked whether he thinks that America鈥檚 northern border is secure, Trump replied: 鈥淵ou can never be totally confident.鈥�

He said he鈥檒l continue to discuss security and immigration with Trudeau, and that his administration has 鈥渟trong, tough鈥� ideas on how to combat terrorism.

Trudeau says he won鈥檛 鈥榣ecture鈥� U.S.

For his part, Trudeau said Canada will pursue 鈥減olicies of openness towards immigration and refugees without compromising security.鈥�

He also noted that Canada has accepted close to 40,000 Syrian refugees.

鈥淭he last things Canadians expect is for me to come down and lecture another country on how they choose to govern themselves,鈥� Trudeau said, adding that his responsibility is to reflect Canadian values and 鈥渂e a positive example in the world.鈥� 

Before Monday afternoon鈥檚 news conference, Trudeau and Trump met privately in the White House, and also attended a roundtable discussion with female executives, pledging their commitments to ensuring workplace equality and advancements for women.

A number of senior members of Trudeau鈥檚 government accompanied him to Washington, D.C., including Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and Finance Minister Bill Morneau.

In an interview with CTV鈥檚 Power Play Monday, Freeland said Trump鈥檚 comments on trade and NAFTA were very significant.

鈥淭he most important message from today鈥檚 meeting was a real reaffirmation from our American partners that they really understand the extent to which we have a balanced, mutually beneficial trade relationship,鈥� she said.

Maryscott Greenwood, an expert in Canada-U.S. relations, said the Trump-Trudeau meeting was an overall success.

鈥淪o far so good,鈥� she told Power Play.  鈥淭here鈥檚 plenty of time for this to go off the rails but as of today, their joint statement was quite good.鈥�

Greenwood said it was 鈥渋ncredibly smart鈥� for Trudeau to also meet with Paul Ryan, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate majority leader.

鈥淩ecognizing that Capitol Hill has as much power as the White House is a very savvy political move,鈥� she said.

Reaction from Ottawa

Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose said she was not surprised by Trump鈥檚 comments on NAFTA and the Canada-U.S. trade relationship. She told reporters in Ottawa that, from her own meetings with congressional leaders in Washington, she understood that the U.S. administration regards the relationship with Canada in a very positive light.

Ambrose said the Conservatives will 鈥減lay a constructive role in helping any kind of renegotiation of NAFTA.

鈥淭hese are Canadian jobs that Liberals, Conservatives are going to fight for.鈥�

However, Ambrose said any kind of 鈥渢weaking鈥� of NAFTA will likely target supply-management agreements and could hurt Canada鈥檚 meat, dairy and agricultural sectors.

She also called on Trudeau to focus on his domestic policies, and reconsider his government鈥檚 corporate and carbon tax plans.

With files from The Canadian Press  

 

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