(Washington) United States President Joe Biden has not wanted to say if his idea is stopped on the zero-emission vehicle tax credit, a proposal that has aroused the ire of the Canadian government .
“We’re going to talk about this. The legislation was not even passed in the House of Representatives […] and we don’t know what will happen to the Senate, and there are several complicated factors, so we will talk about it, he said in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.
When asked if a compromise could be negotiated, the US leader replied behind his mask: “The answer is, I don’t know. I don’t know what we will have to deal with, frankly ”.
Welcoming Justin Trudeau for a tête-à-tête in his office for the first time since his election, the US president called the relationship between Canada and the United States “one of the easiest” and “the one of the best, ”reading prepared notes.
For his part, the Canadian Prime Minister declared that it was “a great pleasure to be here to talk about the environment, to talk about trade, to talk about ending the pandemic”. He added that there was “a lot of work to be done”.
On Wednesday, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland issued a form of warning to the Biden administration about the proposed tax credit of up to $ 12,500 that we want to offer for the purchase of zero emission vehicles “made in the USA”.
She warned that the measure was “absolutely against” the new NAFTA, and assured that the message was conveyed to the most important leaders of the American Congress, Wednesday, on the occasion of bipartisan meetings between the Canadian ministerial delegation and Republican tenors and democrats.
“They framed the incentive in a way that would really, really have the potential to become the dominant issue in our relationship,” said M.me Freeland, who spearheaded the tough negotiations leading to the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
Everyone has their own priorities
Justin Trudeau is in the US capital for the “Three Amigos” summit – the first to be called in five years. Joe Biden has revived the tradition abandoned under former President Donald Trump by inviting his Canadian counterpart and his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Talks between the three partners open at the end of the afternoon in Washington.
While the issue of the incentive for zero-emission vehicles seems to be one of the most pressing these days between Canada and the United States, that of immigration seems to dominate discussions between Mexico and the United States, as is often the case.
Moreover, President López Obrador was greeted by a small group of demonstrators on Thursday morning when he arrived at the Cultural Institute of Mexico. Some wore sweaters that read “No borders”.
Before the summit begins, Justin Trudeau has a one-on-one meeting with the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, in his office which is located in the Eisenhower Building, a stone’s throw from the House. -White.