President Donald Trump assured Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Canada isn’t the main target of his plans to reset U.S. trade relationships, as both leaders said they are committed to maintaining commercial ties and economic integration that support millions of jobs on both sides of the border.

At a joint news conference with Trudeau at the White House, Trump emphasized that, in dealing with the U.S.’s two North American Free Trade Agreement partners, he’s more bothered about trade imbalances with Mexico than with Canada.

“We have a very outstanding trade relationship with Canada,” Trump said, adding that they will be “tweaking it” in order to make it better for both countries. “It’s a much less severe situation than what’s taken place on the southern border.”

Trump’s comments mark a victory for Trudeau, whose government has sought for weeks to distance itself from Mexico on trade matters in a bid to protect a relationship with the U.S. that is worth $541 billion a year. The conciliatory remarks are also in line with investor expectations, which have shown little concern about a major trade upset between Canada and the U.S.

David Fuller's view

Given all the uncertainty and bluster coming from the White House, this was obviously a successful meeting between Trump and Trudeau.  Thank heavens. 

(See also: Justin Trudeau meets Donald Trump at the White House: ‘America is deeply fortunate to have a neighbour like Canada’, published by the National Post.)