The first face to face meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Trump could be the most important meeting for Canada in decades between leaders of the two neighbors. Trudeau will be at the White House on Monday at a time many Canadians fear Trump will enact protectionist measures that could hurt their economy and worry the new president could be as combative as he was with the leaders of Mexico and Australia.
Trudeau, 45, and Trump, 70, have vastly
different outlooks on the world. Trudeau is a liberal who champions global
trade and has welcomed 40,000 Syrian refugees. Trump is a protectionist and his
moves to restrict entry of refugees and immigrants are expected to come up
Monday. But Trudeau is expected to emphasize common economic interests.
"We're going to talk about all sorts of
things we align on, like jobs and economic growth, opportunities for the middle
class - the fact that millions of good jobs on both sides of our border depend
on the smooth flow of goods and services across that border," Trudeau
said.
The atmosphere at the White House appeared
cordial as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flashed a charming smile that
appeared to coax President Trump out of his usual scowl. Their official joint
statement was devoid of virtually any negative comments and, notably, made no
mention of tearing up nor even renegotiating NAFTA.
Interestingly, in a Fox op-ed yesterday,
former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) an early supporter of the president's wrote
that "A United States-Canada trade agreement may be a profitable parallel
to a U.S.–Great Britain trade deal." Gingrich's thoughts seem to portend
some significant change in NAFTA. But let's return to the official joint
statement, which offered much good news for a variety of sectors.
It noted that "Canada is the most
important foreign market for thirty-five U.S. States, and more than $2 billion
in two-way trade flows across our shared border every day," which creates
and sustains millions of good-paying jobs for middle-class Americans and
Canadians.
Energy and the environment were highlighted
next; as the statement noted, the "world's largest energy-trading
relationship" works to our mutual benefit, and the Keystone XL pipeline is
a top priority for both leaders.
A clear focus was properly placed on border
security, with no mention of the 9/11 myth that the terrorists came through
Canada rather, the statement focused on NORAD, pre-clearance and the
"building [of] a 21st-century border" with information-sharing
beneficial to both countries. The release expressed a clear understanding of
the need for infrastructure spending and the adoption of strategies like
co-locating border officers.
And in
a pleasant surprise, the inclusion of the section on "Empowering Women
Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders" was most welcome. The statement
concluded with a commitment to strengthening our common bond for "mutual
prosperity and security."
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