Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with President Trump in Washington on Monday, the White House announced Thursday.
“President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau look forward to a constructive conversation on strengthening the relationship between our two nations,” the White House said.
Trump has signaled that he intends to begin renegotating the North American Free Trade Agreement with Trudeau. The president has frequently blamed NAFTA for gutting the manufacturing industry in the U.S. and has vowed to rework the trade deal so it contains terms more favorable to American workers.
An earlier meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, which would have also featured NAFTA discussions, was scrapped amid controversy over Trump’s move to begin construction of a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
After Trump took to Twitter and warned Pena Nieto that it would be better for him not to come to Washington if he did not plan to pay for the wall, Pena Nieto publicly pulled out of the meeting. The White House has said the meeting will be rescheduled in the weeks ahead.
Trudeau’s visit comes amid a legal battle over Trump’s temporary suspension of the refugee program in seven Middle Eastern countries. The Canadian prime minister offered to accept any refugees turned away by Trump’s ban in a tweet many read as an implicit criticism of the policy.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified the name of the trade agreement. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.
