First Trump-Trudeau meeting expected 'very soon'

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A first face-to-face meeting between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to take place "very soon," White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Friday.

There were tentative plans for the two leaders to meet on Wednesday, but the shooting at the Quebec City mosque delayed the White House sit-down for at least another week.

"He has spoken to Prime Minister Trudeau, and I know they are looking at setting up a time to come down. We have been in constant contact with Canadian officials, and I think that there will be a meeting that will be set up very shortly," Mr. Spicer told reporters during his daily press briefing.

Mr. Spicer was also asked about potential border irritants that Mr. Trump could be expected to raise with the Prime Minister but he declined to comment.

The Prime Minister's Office said a date for the get-together has not been firmed up. Normally, a new President follows the tradition of visiting Canada on his first foreign trip, but both countries prefer the meeting to take place in Washington. A trip by the President to Ottawa would likely result in large protests against Mr. Trump's immigration policies.

In recent days, Trudeau cabinet ministers have moved quickly to reach out to Mr. Trump's cabinet secretaries to seek areas of agreement on continental and global issues and to demonstrate Canada's desire to develop a positive relationship with the new Republican administration.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who commanded troops in Afghanistan, will drop by the Pentagon on Monday to meet his U.S. counterpart, retired four-star Marine Corps general James Mattis. The two former military commanders are expected to discuss the fight against the Islamic State and what additional responsibilities the Americans might expect of Canada within NATO and the North American Aerospace Defence Command [NORAD].

Mr. Sajjan can be expected to seek guidance on whether the U.S. will continue to stand with Ukraine, given Mr. Trump's comments about mending relations with Russia. Since Mr. Trump moved into the White House, there has been a surge in violence in Ukraine that is threatening to overturn a ceasefire in the three-year-old conflict.

Canada first deployed about 200 troops to Ukraine in the summer of 2015 to help train government forces after Russia annexed Crimea and began aiding separatist forces in Ukraine's Donbass region. The mission is set to expire at the end of March, and Ottawa has been non-committal on an extension despite public appeals from the Ukrainian government.

Mr. Saijan will also ask Mr. Mattis what the U.S. thinks of Canada sending up to 600 Canadian peacekeepers to Mali, a deployment now on hold until Ottawa has secured American support. Command of the 13,500-troop UN mission in Mali is now vacant, and the UN has been waiting since December for confirmation that Canada will nominate a general for the post.

On Thursday, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland spoke by telephone with newly confirmed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson about coming negotiations on the North American free-trade agreement and the importance of keeping the Canada-U.S. border open to trade and travel.

"The two underlined the importance of the Canada-U.S. bilateral relationship, including mutually beneficial trade and economic ties. Both highlighted the progress of recent preclearance measures, as well as the need for a safe and secure border that does not impede the smooth flow of goods and people," the Department of Foreign Affairs said in an statement. "The Minister and Secretary noted the importance of open channels of communication between Canada and the United States, and the two agreed to meet as soon as possible."

Ms. Freeland and Mr. Trudeau's senior advisers have held meetings and phone conversations with key players in the Trump administration, including Commerce Secretary-designate Wilbur Ross, who has been put in charge of U.S. trade policy, as well as Jared Kushner, the President's son-in-law, and Mr. Trump's chief adviser Stephen Bannon.

Mr. Ross, a billionaire turnaround specialist, has said every aspect of the North American free-trade agreement will be on the negotiating table, and any final agreement should contain an automatic measure to reopen the deal later to address further issues.

The Americans want to discuss country-of-origin rules and the independent dispute-settlement mechanism that are key features of the 1994 NAFTA pact, officials say. Country-of-origin rules, which govern how much content from outside NAFTA a product can contain and still qualify to be shipped duty-free, are specific to each product and spelled out in writing. They cover every kind of good and service, from suits to cars. The Trump administration is expected to take a harder line on exactly what can cross the border duty-free.

Mr. Trump announced Thursday that he wants to "speed up" renegotiation of NAFTA, promising either a "renovation of NAFTA or a brand-new NAFTA." The White House must give Congress 90-days notice before formally starting talks with Canada and Mexico.

The Liberal government has yet to receive a formal letter from the White House that would notify Canada of the U.S. plan to renegotiate NAFTA and the key areas up for discussion. Canadian officials have received assurances that Mr. Trump's focus is largely on the trade imbalance the U.S. has with Mexico.

Aside from NAFTA, Mr. Trudeau is likely to raise the problems that have arisen from Mr. Trump's sweeping immigration ban on citizens from seven majority Muslim nations, as well as all refugees – including an indefinite halt to the settlement of Syrian refugees in the United States.