Canada's Prime Minister Meets Irish Leader

Canada's prime minister met with Ireland's taoiseach on Saturday and said middle-power countries should form partnerships instead of competing for favor with the United States. The prime minister noted that Canada and the European Union together have more than twice the population of the United States, a similarly sized economy, and a collective defense budget twice that of China.

He said smaller nations can increase their influence by working with like-minded allies. "In a world of great power rivalry, middle powers have a choice — to compete for favor or to combine to create a third path with impact," the prime minister said at Trinity College in Dublin.

Canada joined the European Union's SAFE defense procurement initiative in February as its first non-European member. The prime minister, on his ninth trip to Europe since taking office 15 months ago, said Canada maintains 56 partnerships in the critical minerals sector, mostly with European countries.

The prime minister also said the United States has indicated it does not want major changes to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. He noted that about 85 percent of Canadian exports to the United States currently enter tariff-free under that pact.

A senior U.S. administration official said the United States has received outreach from Canada for further trade talks but does not expect major breakthroughs at the Group of 7 summit. The official added that the Trump administration views positively Canada's recent decision to roll back a requirement that foreign streaming platforms direct revenue to local Canadian programming.

The prime minister has set a goal of doubling Canada's non-U.S. exports over the next decade. Ireland will assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in July.