WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump's assessment of U.S.-Canada trade (all times local):
3:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump "didn't have to look at the specific figures" to claim the United States has a trade deficit with Canada.
That's according to White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who said Thursday that Trump "was accurate" when he made the claim to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Trump spoke about trade during a fundraising speech in St. Louis on Wednesday, according to audio obtained by The Washington Post. The paper reports that Trump said Trudeau told him there was no trade deficit. Trump said he replied, "'Wrong, Justin, you do.' I didn't even know. ... I just said, 'You're wrong.'"
The Office of the United States Trade Representative says the U.S. has a trade surplus with Canada.
Sanders says the figures don't include timber and energy.
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12:35 p.m.
Canada is weighing in after President Donald Trump is said to have insisted that the United States runs a trade deficit with Canada.
A spokesman for Canada's foreign affairs minister says the two allies "have a balanced and mutually beneficial trading relationship." Adam Austin says an emailed statement that "according to their own statistics, the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Canada."
The Office of the United States Trade Representative says the United States has a trade surplus with Canada.
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7:15 a.m.
President Donald Trump freestyled with the facts when talking trade with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The Republican described the discussion during a fundraising speech in St. Louis on Wednesday.
According to audio obtained by The Washington Post, Trump insisted that the United States runs a trade deficit with Canada.
Trump said Trudeau told him there was no trade deficit. Trump said he replied, "'Wrong, Justin, you do.' I didn't even know. ... I had no idea. I just said, 'You're wrong.'"
Trump claimed the figures don't include timber and energy.
However, the Office of the United States Trade Representative says the United States has a trade surplus with Canada.
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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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