Canadian PM says he spoke to Trump on Monday, had good conversation

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday that he had a lengthy and productive conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, covering trade issues and other topics.

His comments are another recent indication that bilateral tensions might be lessening.

The two sides have been locked in a trade war since early this year, when Trump imposed tariffs on some imports from Canada and Ottawa responded with its own countermeasures.

"I last spoke to the president on Monday evening. We spoke at length on a wide range of issues, including on trade, but geopolitical, other issues. ... It was a good conversation," Carney told reporters in Toronto ahead of a cabinet meeting.

Canada said last month that it would remove many retaliatory import tariffs on U.S. goods and intensify talks, a move that prompted praise from Trump.

But Ottawa made clear it would maintain its tariffs on imports of U.S. steel, aluminum and autos, which it described as strategic sectors. Carney also said a senior team of Canadian officials was in Washington for the latest round of talks on trade, while making clear progress would not be quick.

"Don't expect immediate white smoke on one of these strategic sectors, but that's the type of conversation that we're having, and we'll continue to have," he said.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren and Promit Mukherjee)

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