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US President Donald Trump has struck a friendly tone with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, hailing progress towards a trade deal but offering few concrete concessions on steep US tariffs. 

Trump repeatedly showered praise on “great leader” Carney, who was under pressure at home to show progress from his second visit to the White House since taking office in April. 

“I think they’re going to walk away very happy,” Trump told reporters as he sat alongside Carney in the Oval Office. “And I think we’ve come a long way over the last few months, actually, in terms of that relationship.” 

Trump said that the North American neighbours had “natural conflict” over business as their manufacturers were competing for the same market but said there was “nothing wrong with it”. 

Carney said he was confident that Canada would “get the right deal” from the United States, his country’s main economic partner. 

The pair shared a series of light-hearted moments, even laughing as Trump joked about a Canadian “merger” in a reference to his previous calls for Canada to become the 51st US state. 

“He is a world-class leader,” Trump said of the former central banker. “He’s a nice man, but he can be very nasty.” 

But Trump and Carney studiously avoided giving any precise details on how they might ease US tariffs on lumber, aluminium, steel and automobiles. The US President announced 25% tariffs on all imported heavy trucks would start on November 1. 

The 60-year-old Carney entered politics less than a year ago after campaigning on his extensive crisis management experience as a way of countering Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats. 

But while the vast majority of Canada’s trade remains protected by the USMCA, a free-trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico, Trump has called for revisions when it comes up for renegotiation soon. 

Seventy-five per cent of Canada’s exports are sold across its southern border. Canada saw its GDP decline by 1.5% in the second quarter, adding to the economic pressure. 

Mark Carney hopes to convince Donald Trump to ease US tariffs that are negatively impacting Canada's economy. Photo / Jim Watson, AFP 

‘Broken promises’ 

Before the visit Canada’s opposition heaped pressure on Carney, as the country is the last major US ally not to seal a deal with Washington. 

“If you return with excuses, broken promises and photo ops, you will have failed our workers, our businesses and our country,” conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre wrote in an open letter to Carney. 

Carney faces particular criticism for making concessions to Trump while getting little in return. 

At the end of June, Carney cancelled a tax targeting American tech giants under pressure from Trump, who called it outrageous. He also lifted many of the tariffs imposed by the previous government. 

“Mark Carney has no choice, he must return from Washington with progress,” said Daniel Beland, a political scientist at McGill University in Montreal, pointing to the steel and aluminium tariffs as key areas. 

But Carney at least seemed to have negotiated the first hurdle of an Oval Office visit. 

While the Canadian safely navigated his first appearance there six months ago, Trump has previously savaged visiting foreign leaders in the gilded room, including Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

“These meetings can easily go off track, and everything plays out publicly,” said Genevieve Tellier, a political scientist at the University of Ottawa. 

Last week, Trump once again brought up the possibility of annexing Canada during a speech to US generals and admirals, referencing the country’s potential participation in a new “Golden Dome” missile shield. 

– Danny Kemp, Agence France-Presse