The Canadian Press
Alexander Panetta
WASHINGTON–Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet the new U.S. president within the next several weeks, as the incoming American administration talks to its northern and southern neighbours about a revised North American Free Trade Agreement.
A spokesman for Donald Trump confirmed the upcoming discussions as he held his first daily White House briefing yesterday and took questions on trade, counter-terrorism, and a dispute over him making misleading statements.
The first NAFTA talks could take place in the U.S., Sean Spicer suggested. He appeared to indicate the leaders would visit Trump.
Here in Canada, however, several officials said specifics of a meeting had yet to be nailed down.
“[Trump] discussed on the phone with both leaders his desire to reform [NAFTA],” Spicer told reporters.
“His goal was to have that discussion when they come in person.”
Spicer said the meetings would happen soon: “Over the next 30 days or so.”
Trade figured prominently in Trump’s first full workday at the White House. The new president officially killed the Trans-Pacific Partnership by formally revoking U.S. participation in the 12-country trade pact.
That multinational agreement had been a pillar of U.S. foreign policy under two administrations, an effort to set American-designed trade standards in China’s geographic neighbourhood, and Canada also was a party.
However, the deal drew fire from both the left and right in the last U.S. election and now appears dead.
Trump met business leaders and promised a carrot-and-stick approach: lower taxes and a 75-percent reduction in regulations for businesses that stay in the U.S. versus tariff-like punishments for businesses that outsource jobs.
Another subplot of the day featured a spat over basic honesty. Spicer admitted he misled reporters on the weekend by exaggerating the number of Washington subway riders on the day of Trump’s inauguration.
He said it was an honest mistake and that he had received bad numbers.
Spicer did continue to insist that Trump’s inauguration crowd was the largest of all time–but he clarified that the claim included live participants, TV viewers, and people who watched online.
