WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday had a conversation that both men described as productive, although the Canadian leader said Ottawa would be imposing retaliatory tariffs next week as promised.
The phone call was the first contact since Carney won the leadership of Canada’s ruling Liberals on March 9. Carney has said that Trump’s threat of tariffs is a betrayal of a once close economic and security relationship.
“It was an extremely productive call, we 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,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
That work “will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada,” he added. Carney on Thursday vowed to transform Canada’s economy to be less dependent on the United States. Trump’s tariff announcement is expected on April 2. Ottawa has made clear for months that it will impose countermeasures.
“The Prime Minister informed the President that his government will implement retaliatory tariffs to protect Canadian workers and our economy, following the announcement of additional US trade actions on April 2, 2025,” Carney’s office said in a statement.
The United States and its northern neighbor have long been close allies and trading partners. But relations deteriorated after Trump, a Republican who took office in January, upended the relationship with tariff threats and repeated comments about annexing the country.
Trump referred to Carney as the Canadian prime minister rather than as the governor of the 51st US state, the term he often used to describe former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Carney said the two leaders had agreed to begin comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship immediately after an election on April 28.

PESHAWAR: Mohammed Ibrahim stood in his store, Ameer Sahib Juice Shop, earlier this month and fixed whole pistachios, cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts, and raisins to a large milkshake glass covered in a gooey paste.
He was preparing the glass for what many in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar describe as the “most unique” and “most beautifully presented” shakes in town.
Ibrahim and his brother, Ismail, co-owners of the shop they set up in 2005, grind dates, honey, and chocolate to prepare a soft and sticky paste that they carefully apply on the outside of each glass before the dried fruits are applied. The end product is a glass that looks like it is made entirely of dried fruit.
Into the glass are poured thick shakes made from a variety of seasonal fruits, with more edible decorations added on top to finish the offering. The drinks have become a social media hit, and are loved by customers who throng the shop in Ramadan and throughout the rest of the year.
“It takes at least 15-20 minutes to prepare the glass,” Ibrahim told Arab News at Peshawar’s historic Namak Mandi, where his store is located. “We make it in the morning and serve it at iftar time.”
Different sizes of the shakes retail for between $2 and $6, expensive for a city like Peshawar. But many people are still willing to pay due to the drinks’ unique presentation and taste.
“People from different parts of the country come for this dried fruit juice,” Ibrahim said, saying he regularly served customers from cities across KP province, as well as from the Punjab province and the federal capital, Islamabad.
Ayub Sher, a resident of KP’s Bajaur district who works in Peshawar, visited Ibrahim’s shop last week and was full of praise for the shakes.
“We came here to try this juice and to see if it has taste or not. When we tried it, we found it that it is fantastic,” he told Arab News as he scooped some of the thick shake out of the glass with a long spoon.
“Forget about the taste, we haven’t seen any juice presented to us this beautifully.”