Carney meets Trump in bid to reset strained Canada-US relations

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived for White House talks with Donald Trump on Tuesday in a bid to reset a relationship he says has been undermined by the U.S. president's tariffs and talk of annexation.

Carney's Liberal Party won the April 28 election on promises to tackle Trump and create a new bilateral economic and security relationship with the United States. It will be his first in-person meeting as prime minister with Trump.

Shortly before Carney arrived, Trump posted a message on social media.

"I look forward to meeting the new Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney. I very much want to work with him, but cannot understand one simple TRUTH — Why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 Billion Dollars a year, in addition to giving them FREE Military Protection, and many other things? We don’t need their Cars, we don’t need their Energy, we don’t need their Lumber, we don’t need ANYTHING they have, other than their friendship, which hopefully we will always maintain. They, on the other hand, need EVERYTHING from us! The Prime Minister will be arriving shortly and that will be, most likely, my only question of consequence."

Carney, a 60-year-old ex-central banker with no previous political experience, was elected Liberal leader in March to replace Justin Trudeau, who had a poor relationship with Trump. 

"It's important to get engaged immediately ... and I'm pleased to have the opportunity for quite a comprehensive set of meetings," Carney told a press conference on Friday, adding he expected the talks to be difficult yet constructive.

He played down the idea of immediate breakthroughs.

"Do not expect white smoke out of that meeting," Carney said, referring to the signal the Vatican sends to indicate a new pope has been chosen.

Canada is the U.S.' second-largest individual trading partner after Mexico, and the largest export market for U.S. goods. More than $760 billion in goods flowed between the two countries last year, and while Canada has run a trade surplus of more than $60 billion in the last two years, most of that stems from its status as the largest foreign supplier of oil to the U.S.

Ahead of the meeting, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Tuesday Canada's goods trade surplus with the U.S. narrowed to a five-month low in March, the month when Trump's hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum took effect. Canadian exports to the U.S. plunged by $3.7 billion, the second-largest drop on record.

Canadian data showed the drop in U.S. exports was almost compensated by an increase to the rest of the world, as Canadian companies sought new markets.

Trump in March imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports and then slapped another 25% tariff on cars and parts that did not comply with a North American free trade agreement.

On Sunday, Trump said he would put a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the U.S., without giving details, in a potential blow to Canada's film industry.



(With additional reporting by Andrea Shalal and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Nia Williams and Rod Nickel)