Trump says trade talks ‘complicated’ but Canada will be ‘very happy’ with eventual deal

US President Donald Trump said trade negotiations were “complicated” but Canada would be “very happy” with any future deal.

Speaking with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at an intimate meeting at the White House, Trump said that automobile companies were “harming” the United States by conducting cross-border operations and putting the two neighbors in “competition.”

Carney said he was confident they would “get the right deal” from the United States, Canada’s primary economic partner.

Canada’s main opposition figure, Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, had said that failure to reach an agreement would mean that the visit would end in failure.

During Tuesday’s White House visit (Carney’s second since taking office in March), both men appeared optimistic about the chances of eventually reaching a deal, even as Trump said it would be a complicated proposition.

The U.S. president imposed a 35 percent tariff on imports from Canada but allowed exemptions for goods falling under USMCA, a free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada that Trump negotiated during his first term.

Trump also imposed sector-specific tariffs on Canadian goods, including 50% on metals and 25% on automobiles.

The US president told reporters that the relationship between the two neighbors was a “natural conflict”.

“We also have mutual love,” he said. “We have great love for each other. I love Canada and the Canadian people.”

Trade talks between the two countries have stretched into August, and Canada remains the only G7 country that has not struck a trade deal with Trump this year.

Explaining why the two countries have a “complicated” economic relationship, Trump referenced the auto industry.

“The problem is, they want a car company, and I want a car company,” he said. “They want steel, we want steel… in other countries they are very far away and there is no problem.”

“We don’t like to compete because we hurt each other,” Trump said. “It’s a natural business conflict. There’s nothing wrong with that. I think we’ve come a long way in the last few months.”

Carney has repeatedly praised Trump and emphasized the extent of Canada’s economic and investment ties to the United States, to which it sells 75% of its goods.

“There are areas where we compete and we need to reach an agreement that works in those areas,” Carney said.

“But there are more areas where we are stronger together, and that’s what we’re focused on. We’ll make the right deal.”

Although Trump recently revived talk of Canada becoming the 51st state of the United States, the topic was only briefly mentioned on Tuesday, and both leaders laughed when it was brought up.

Carney told Trump during his last Oval Office visit in May that Canada “will never be for sale.”

Tuesday’s meeting ended on a friendly note, with Trump referring to Carney as a “very strong” leader and a “tough negotiator.”

When asked what was holding up the deal, Trump answered without hesitation.

“I want to be a great man too,” he said.

Their warm tone was a striking departure from Trump’s combative relationship with the late Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.