Canada’s Carney reports progress in trade talks with Trump as he expands ties with Asia

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Saturday that he had a lengthy conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump and senior administration officials before leaving for Europe and Asia and that the two countries are making progress toward a trade deal after negotiations collapsed in August. The comments came as Carney announced that Canada had substantially concluded free-trade negotiations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a bloc of nearly 700 million people, and completed separate negotiations with the Philippines. Both agreements are part of Canada’s efforts to reduce its dependence on the United States during Trump’s trade war. Carney was in the Philippine capital ahead of a key three-day summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their Asian and Western counterparts that starts Sunday. “I had quite a long, substantive conversation with President Trump just before leaving for this trip,” Carney told reporters in Manila.

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