On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump for talks at the White House that should include launching a joint initiative for female entrepreneurs and business leaders.
The two heads of state will hold a number of meetings that include what the Trump administration described as a roundtable on advancement of women business leaders and entrepreneurs.
The schedule for Trudeau in Washington for just one day includes talks with Paul Ryan the House Speaker and Mitch McConnell the Senator Majority Leader.
President Trump made it clear to all he wants a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement or to scrap it entirely. NAFTA includes the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Trump said he wants the U.S. to have trade deals that favor the U.S., while Trudeau advocates free trade.
Canada is very dependent on the U.S., which represents 75% of the country’s exports.
Both leaders also hold very different views related to immigration. Trump signed one of his executive orders that suspended the refugee program of the U.S. for a period of 120 days and suspended indefinitely Syrian refugees from entering. That order banned entry of immigrant and non-immigrants for 90 days to those from Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Sudan and Somalia.
Trump says it is a necessary move to protect the U.S. national security. The ban was temporarily halted by a federal court last week.
Trudeau’s government has offered those who normally would be allowed entry into the U.S. an opportunity to apply for temporary status from Canada in response to Trump’s ban.
Just one day after President Trump signed his executive order banning the entry of people from 7 Muslim-majority countries, Trudeau took to Twitter.
The Canadian prime minister said on twitter that all those who are fleeing persecution, war and terror, will be welcomed by Canadians regardless of one’s faith. He called diversity Canada’s strength.
Trudeau and Trump are likely not to reach any type of agreement when it comes to trade issues on Monday, but will launch the women’s initiative and both will have a better understanding of what the other wants relative to both trade and immigration.
