Trump says first call with newly minted Canadian prime minister was 'extremely productive'

TORONTO (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that his first call with new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was “extremely productive” and Carney said Trump respected Canada’s sovereignty both in private and public but added that the relationship has changed.

The call came as Trump has declared a trade war on Canada and has threatened to use economic coercion to make Canada the 51st U.S. state, a position that has infuriated Canadians. Trump avoided any mention of that in his social media post and in public remarks later.

“We had a very good conversation. Mark called me,” Trump said. “We had a very very good talk. He's going through an election. We'll see what happens.”

Trump didn’t refer to the prime minister as governor as he did with Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau.

The U.S. president, in his social media post, said the two sides “agree on many things and will be meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada.”

But Trump said more tariffs are coming. And Carney said Trump didn't say he would pull back on tariffs on steel and aluminum, autos and other products.

“It is clear that the United States is no longer a reliable partner. It is probable now that by negotiating we will able to restore an element of trust but we cannot go back," Carney said.

Carney previously said he would talk to Trump if he respected Canada’s sovereignty.

“The president respected Canada’s sovereignty today both in his private and public comments,” Carney said.

He described the call as positive, cordial and constructive.

“Exactly what we want,” Carney said.

Carney said he will begin comprehensive negotiations for a “new economic and security relationship” immediately after the Canadian election on April 28.

Carney, who replaced Trudeau as Canada’s leader and the head of the Liberal Party, is at the start of a five-week campaign.

“What we need is a new agreement and a new partnership with the United States because there are too many changes, to many tariffs and too many threats coming at us,” Carney said. “There is too much uncertainty in that relationship. We made progress but we will see.”

The former central banker was sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister on March 14. It’s unusual for a U.S. president and Canadian prime minister to go so long without talking after a new leader takes office.

Trump ramped up his trade war this week by announcing a 25% tariff on automobile imports. Autos are Canada’s second largest export.

Trump previously placed 25% tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products — as well as on all of America’s trading partners — on April 2.

Carney said the significant transformation that Trump is seeking in repatriating manufacturing in the U.S. could lead to inflation and slowing growth. But he said reaching a deal with America's most important trading partner will help Americans and Canadians.

“We are going to end up with a very good relationship with Canada,” Trump said.

Canada has previously said it would retaliate with counter tariffs, and Carney reiterated that in his call with Trump.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance took a harder line with Canada on Friday, noting the country is threatening retaliatory tariffs.

“As President Trump always says they just don’t have the cards,” Vance said in Greenland. “There is no way that Canada can win a trade war with the United States."

Vance claimed that for decades Canada has forced American farmers and manufacturers to play by an unfair set of rules.

Trump renegotiated the free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico in his first term. At the time Trump called it the “most modern, up-to-date, and balanced trade agreement in the history of our country, with the most advanced protections for workers ever developed."

Trump and Carney agreed that Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's minister of international trade, and United States Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, will intensify talks to address the coming tariffs in the interim.

The governing Liberals had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared a trade war and challenged Canada’s sovereignty. The crisis has created a surge in patriotism among Canadians, with many in the country feeling that Carney is the best person to lead the country at the moment.

Trump previously acknowledged that he has upended Canadian politics.

Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, March 28, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Liberal Leader Mark Carney greets workers as he arrives at a campaign event at the Port of Montreal on Friday March 28, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Liberal Leader Mark Carney speaks at a campaign event at the Port of Montreal on Friday March 28, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Liberal Leader Mark Carney greets workers following a campaign event at the Port of Montreal on Friday March 28, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Liberal Leader Mark Carney speaks at a campaign event at the Port of Montreal on Friday March 28, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Liberal Leader Mark Carney greets workers as he arrives at a campaign event at the Port of Montreal on Friday March 28, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, March 28, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Liberal Leader Mark Carney speaks at a campaign event at the Port of Montreal on Friday March 28, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, March 28, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with media on Parliament Hill following a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Canada-U.S. Relations and National Security, in Ottawa, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, March 27, 2025. Carney will chair a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Canada-U.S. Relations and National Security. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with media on Parliament Hill following a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Canada-U.S. Relations and National Security, in Ottawa, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The Chinese military announced large-scale drills in the waters around Taiwan on Tuesday as it again warned the self-ruled island against seeking independence.

The joint exercises involve navy, air ground and rocket forces and are meant to be a “severe warning and forceful containment against Taiwan independence,” according to Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command.

China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, while most Taiwanese favor their de facto independence and democratic status.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence said it had tracked 19 Chinese navy vessels in the waters surrounding the island in a 24-hour period from 6 a.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday.

It added that it had been tracking the movement of the Shandong aircraft carrier since Saturday and that the carrier group had entered into Taiwan's identification zone, a self-defined area tracked by the military.

“I want to say these actions amply reflect its destruction of regional peace and stability,” said Taiwan's Defense Minister Wellington Koo.

Taiwan has set up a central response group to monitor the latest exercises, Koo said.

China's Coast Guard also announced it was conducting a “law enforcement patrol” on Tuesday around Taiwan, its spokesperson Zhu Anqin said.

The drills come just two weeks after a large-scale exercise in mid-March, when Beijing sent a large number of drones and ships toward the island.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office said the exercises were directed at Lai Ching-te, Taiwan's president.

“Lai Ching-te stubbornly insists on a ‘Taiwan independence’ stance, brazenly labeling the mainland as a ‘foreign hostile force,’ and has put forward a so-called “17-point strategy ... stirring up anti-China sentiments,” said China’s Taiwan Affairs Office in a statement on Tuesday. “We will not tolerate or condone this in any way and must resolutely counter and severely punish these actions.”

In mid-March, Taiwan’s Lai put forward a 17-point strategy aimed at shoring up Taiwan’s national security. The points include allowing espionage cases to be tried by military courts and making immigration rules stricter for Chinese citizens applying for permanent residency.

China’s PLA also released a series of videos to publicize their military exercise, including one in which they depict Lai as a green parasite “poisoning” the island by hatching smaller parasites. The video shows Lai’s head on the body of a bulbous green worm, with a pair of chopsticks picking him up and roasting him over a flame set over Taiwan.

Beijing sends warplanes and navy vessels toward the island on a daily basis, seeking to wear down Taiwanese defenses and morale, although the vast majority of the island’s 23 million people reject its claim of sovereignty over Taiwan. In recent years, it has stepped up the scope and scale of these exercises, from sending just fighter planes to sending groups of planes, drones and ships.

Most Taiwanese want to maintain the status quo, in which Taiwan is self-ruled.

“The PLA organized naval and air forces to practice subjects such as sea and land strikes, focusing on testing the troops’ ability to carry out precision strikes on some key targets of the Taiwan authorities from multiple directions,” said Zhang Chi, a professor at China's National Defense University in a CCTV interview.

Faced with the rising threat from China, Taiwan has ordered new missiles, aircraft and other armaments from the U.S., while revitalizing its own defense industry.

Taiwan and China split amid civil war 76 years ago, but tensions have risen in recent years as communication between the two governments has stopped.

Wu reported from Bangkok.

This image released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense shows China’s Shandong aircraft carrier sailing near Taiwan on Monday, March 31, 2025. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)

This photograph released by Taiwan Ministry of National Defense taken from a Taiwan Air Force P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft, shows a Chinese Cloud Shadow WZ-10 drone near Taiwan, Monday, March 17, 2025. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)