US President Donald Trump said Canada wants to reach a deal with the United States “very badly” and suggested a deal could be reached “fairly soon” if Ottawa addresses his concerns about agricultural trade.
Trump made the comments on Saturday in Ireland, where he was asked if he was considering withdrawing from the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
“No, we’re doing a great job,” Trump said. “And we’re going to have a great relationship with Mexico.”
He then turned his attention to Canada, saying the two countries enjoy a good relationship while repeating his criticism of the trade relationship.
“We already have a good relationship with Canada, but the United States has been defrauded for 50 years by Canada,” Trump said.
“We don’t need their products and they need ours. They do almost all their business with us and we do very little with them.”
The Office of the United States Trade Representative says Canada has consistently been one of the United States’ best trading partners
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Trump said Canada “badly wants a deal,” but indicated he did not think Ottawa was ready yet.
The US President then compared Canada’s desire to reach an agreement with Iran’s desire.
“I hope Canada appreciates being in the same sentence with Iran,” Trump said. “It’s very interesting – Canada and Iran.”
“Canada wants to make a deal and Iran wants to make a deal. In time, both can happen.”
Trump said agricultural trade remains among his concerns, reiterating his criticism of Canadian tariffs on some US agricultural products.
“Canada has to treat our farmers better, and they can’t impose tariffs on our farmers,” he said.
“When those things go away, and they’re willing to get rid of them all, you’ll probably see an agreement with Canada fairly soon.”
Trump’s comments came during a weekend visit to Ireland, where he also spoke about the politically sensitive issue of Irish reunification.
Speaking alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in Dublin, Trump said he would “love to see” the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland united.
“I don’t want to cause any problems, but I would like to see it united,” Trump said. “It will happen eventually. Maybe it will happen now, too.”
-With files from The Canadian Press and Reuters
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