Canada’s foreign minister on U.S. relations and security guarantees for Ukraine

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• Geoff Bennett:

  Canada's Foreign Minister visited Washington today to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as President Trump spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about the two countries' ongoing trade negotiations.

  The U.S.-Canada relationship, for decades a symbol of stability, has been rockier under President Trump, who has joked about making Canada the 51st state.

  But Anand said today's conversation with Rubio was positive, and spoke to Nick Schifrin, who's here with me now.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Geoff, we discussed the trade negotiation that you just mentioned after President Trump earlier this month raised tariffs on Canada on goods that are not covered by USMCA, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

  We talked about Haiti, where the U.S. and Canada are trying to develop a new path forward to try and bring stability. But we began with Ukraine, where Anand believes recent diplomacy represents a new opportunity for peace.

• Anita Anand, Canadian Foreign Minister:

  The meeting of the European leaders on Monday with President Trump does present a renewed approach to seeking peace.

  Our chiefs of defense staff are meeting, including Canada's Jennie Carignan, and that is the work that the military leaders are doing right now. So, yes, this is a different moment.

• Nick Schifrin:

  So, as you point out, President Trump has made positive statements this week about guaranteeing Ukraine's long-term security.

  Earlier this year, he was much more skeptical. At this point, do you believe the U.S. will help deliver the kind of security guarantee that Ukraine says it needs? Or will it be minimal, as Vice President Vance publicly suggested last night?

• Anita Anand:

  The question of how a security guarantee or guarantees will be implemented needs to be fleshed out. There needs to be meat on the bones.

• Nick Schifrin:

  And do you think the United States at this point is committed?

• Anita Anand:

  From the words that we heard on Monday and then certainly in my conversations thereafter, I believe that we will all be at the table in that regard.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Let me talk about the larger U.S.-Canada relationship. Of course, most Canadians still offended, angered by President Trump's 51st state comments mostly earlier this year.

  Donald Trump, President of the United States: I think Canada is going to be a very serious contender to be our 51st state.

• Nick Schifrin:

  When it comes to the military, Prime Minister Carney announced a review of Canada's $27 billion deal to buy more than 80 F-35s, suggesting that, after an initial delivery, he might look to other countries' planes.

  Are you withholding that agreement because something in the U.S.-Canada relationship is leading you to think, ah, I can't trust the United States when it comes to the F-35s?

• Anita Anand:

  So it's somewhat inaccurate to simply move directly into the F-35 issue without taking a step back to say, what is this relationship all about?

  In every relationship, there are hills and there are valleys. And what we are doing as diplomats and as countries is to see through the valleys to ensure that we walk this road together.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Do you describe today as a valley?

• Anita Anand:

  Today was definitely a positive moment. My conversation with Secretary Rubio was, I will say, collaborative, cooperative, focused on areas that we will continue to dialogue and work together.

• Nick Schifrin:

  With all due respect, let me ask the question again. Will Canada see through the F-35 deal?

• Anita Anand:

  Canada's commitment to the F-35 deal has been very well-thought-out and very well-reasoned and will continue to ensure that the Canadian armed forces are well-equipped.

  And, certainly, interoperability is one of the most important aspects of that acquisition.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Let me ask about the larger trade relationship right now. Of course, earlier this month, on the August 1 deadline, President Trump raised some tariff rates from 25 to 35 percent, although there are a lot of exceptions to that.

  But is the Canadian government today committed to making a trade deal with the U.S. even if there is a blanket tariff on all goods indefinitely? Or are you holding out? Will you refuse a deal until you can remove some of those tariffs?

• Anita Anand:

  We need to take a step back, because we have the USMCA that is in place that governs approximately 75 percent of the trade between our two countries.

• Nick Schifrin:

  The president raised tariffs on non-USMCA goods.

• Anita Anand:

  And when I say 75 percent or more of the goods that are traded between our two countries, that's a significant percentage.

  And the trade relationship, therefore, is stronger than is often depicted. I will say, though, that steel and aluminum in Canada, for example, are being hit very hard, as are other sectors. The auto sector is another one. Lumber is another one. So, yes, we have concerns.

• Nick Schifrin:

  And you mentioned USMCA. Next year, there will be a renegotiation…

• Anita Anand:

  A review.

• Nick Schifrin:

  … review of USMCA.

• Anita Anand:

  Yes, we use the word review.

• Nick Schifrin:

  OK.

  But does that mean that you expect the current tariffs to remain in place until that review?

• Anita Anand:

  Of course we would like to have the USMCA govern all sectors, the way it has been since it was put into place in 2018.

  But are we going to sign on to a deal that isn't the best possible deal for Canadians, Canadian workers, Canadian businesses? That's not the approach that Prime Minister Carney is taking.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Let me move to the Middle East. Canada and other countries have vowed to recognize Palestine next month during the U.N. General Assembly.

  Today, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, made this argument, that your move takes Palestinians — quote — "further away from a state" and your announcement was part of the reason that Hamas dug in at the negotiating table. Do you believe in any way that your announcement has somehow backfired?

• Anita Anand:

  Canada's intention to recognize Palestine is based on our view that, in order to maintain a two-state solution as a viable policy outcome, countries need to step forward and declare their intention to recognize Palestine.

• Nick Schifrin:

  And is it conditional?

• Anita Anand:

  And that is not at the detriment of the security of either party in the two-state solution.

  And I have been having weekly calls with the Palestinian Authority to ensure that they have a road map forward for the commitments that they made relating to democratization in Palestine, demilitarization in Palestine, ensuring that there is a viable Palestinian state.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Is your announcement at all conditional on steps either the P.A. will take in the next couple of weeks before the U.N. General Assembly or in fact Israel might take when it comes to the cease-fire negotiations?

• Anita Anand:

  So, the announcement was predicated on the work that the Palestinian Authority said that it would do.

• Nick Schifrin:

  And, finally, I know that you and Secretary Rubio also discussed Haiti today. In fact, that was one of the main points that you discussed today.

  Is there a new road map or is there a new vision for bringing security to Haiti?

• Anita Anand:

  While we are both very grateful to Kenya for leading the multicountry mission there, there is a need to reexamine how stability can be achieved in Port-au-Prince Haiti more generally.

  Let's try to involve the United Nations. Let's work on establishing a tangible presence for the United Nations in Haiti so that we can be delivering outcomes at scale. And the United Nations has that infrastructure to do things like open bank accounts, to set up offices, to have a place of employment for people who can be working on the ground.

  How do we ensure that this is going to be a solution or at least an option that stands the test of time?

• Nick Schifrin:

  Madam Foreign Minister, thank you very much.

• Anita Anand:

  Thank you very much.