Prime Minister Mark Carney concluded his participation in the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Evian, France, on Wednesday, having engaged in multiple discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump on a variety of topics, even though a formal bilateral meeting did not take place.
Multiple Conversations with Trump
“I had seven or eight discussions with President Trump over the course of the last 36 hours, I’ll have more today,” Carney stated during his closing press conference at the summit. The conversations covered a wide range of subjects, including the economy, Trump’s birthday, artificial intelligence, Ukraine, and the Iran peace deal.
Trade and the China EV Deal
Carney also had the opportunity to address trade matters with the president. On Tuesday, a hot mic incident captured the prime minister reassuring Trump about Canada’s electric vehicle (EV) deal with China. Carney explained that he was responding to a question from Trump regarding the agreement. “It was one of many interactions with him, and I was explaining the actual structure of the deal,” Carney said. “I’m not surprised that the president of the United States doesn’t follow every detail of every agreement that Canada has, and he likes the structure.” The prime minister noted that he had a follow-up conversation with Trump on the agreement, which permits 49,000 Chinese-made EVs into the Canadian market at a 6.1 percent tariff rate.
Renewal of CUSMA
Canada-U.S. trade relations are currently under intense negotiation, as the Canada-United-States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is set for renewal in July. When asked about Industry Minister Mélanie Joly’s trip to China and the potential for increased Chinese auto investment in Canada, Carney emphasized that he is not interested in “knockdown kits,” where most production occurs in China before being shipped to Canada for assembly. “We’re not interested in kits being put together in Canada,” Carney told reporters. “We’re interested if there are joint-venture partnerships, Canadian controlled, substantial value-add, Canadian labour standards, substantial jobs, et cetera, that are consistent with that.”
Energy and LNG Exports
The G7 leaders’ statement on geopolitical issues welcomed Canada’s potential to deliver “significant” additional energy capacity for global markets. Carney said Canada can provide the energy Europe needs, with more agreements on Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the works. “Canada has the ability to do several things, and we’re on the path to do several things, 150 megatons of LNG by the end of the year,” he stated. In late May, Germany and Canada signed an offtake agreement to ship gas from the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG facility in British Columbia to Germany, starting in the 2030s.
