By Canadian Press

NAFTA, Hong Kong on agenda for Trudeau-Trump bilateral meeting during G7 summit

Aug 23, 2019 | 9:57 AM

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will have a tete-a-tete with President Donald Trump this weekend on the margins of the G7 summit in France.

White House officials have confirmed the bilateral meeting between the two leaders.

Officials say the two will discuss a wide range of issues, in particular their shared commitment to ratifying the new North American Free Trade Agreement — or the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, as Trump has dubbed it.

Mexico has already ratified the continental trade pact; the Trudeau government, which has introduced implementation legislation in the House of Commons, is holding off on final ratification until the deal is ratified in the United States, where Democratic lawmakers are threatening to block the process.

Officials say Trump and Trudeau will also discuss tensions in Hong Kong, where pro-democracy protests have been escalating for weeks, sparked by proposed legislation that would have seen some suspects in criminal cases sent to mainland China for trial.

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Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has expressed support for the right to peaceful protest in Hong Kong, earning a rebuke from China, which is already furious with Canada for detaining Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and has retaliated by detaining two Canadians and blocking imports of Canadian canola.

The Canadian Press