President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke on Friday as the two nations prepare to implement tariffs in an escalation of the growing trade war between the two governments.
Both leaders expressed optimism and called the meeting productive, but by all accounts, there appear to be no plans to halt the tariffs from going into effect after April 2.
Writing on Truth Social, President Trump said that he and Carney "agree on many things" and that the call was "extremely productive." President Trump stated he would follow up after Canada's snap elections, scheduled for April 28.
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Carney became Canada's Prime Minister earlier this month and nearly immediately called for a snap election in April. Carney had until this October to call for a new election. He is vying to remain the nation's Prime Minister following April's election.
His office stated that the conversation with President Trump was "constructive."
"The leaders agreed to begin comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship immediately following the election," Carney's office said. "The Prime Minister told the President that he would be working hard for the next month to earn the right to represent Canada in those discussions," his office added.
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President Trump has dubbed April 2 "Liberation Day," as he plans to announce new tariffs on imports into the U.S. Among the expected set of tariffs, President Trump has suggested he will impose a 25% duty on passenger vehicles being sent to the U.S. Carney has vowed that Canada would implement reciprocal tariffs.
President Trump has said tariffs would help the U.S. bolster manufacturing and he doesn't believe Americans necessarily need to buy cars before tariffs are in place to save money. In fact, he said he would incentivize purchases of American-made vehicles.
"If you buy a car in the United States, that's made in the United States, if it's manufactured here, when you borrow money ... we're going to let you deduct the interest payment for income tax reasons," he said.
Still, economists have warned that tariffs could lead to higher inflation, ultimately hurting the American consumer.
