US President Donald Trump on Saturday claimed that Canada was keen to reach a trade deal with the United States and that an agreement could come “fairly soon”.“Canada wants to make a deal very badly,” Trump told reporters after meeting Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Dublin.“Canada has to treat our farmers better. They can’t charge our farmers tariffs,” he said, adding, “You’ll probably see a deal with Canada fairly soon.”Trump’s comments came during a two-day visit to Ireland that has combined political engagements with a stop at his golf resort in Doonbeg, where he is attending the Irish Open. He also met Irish President Catherine Connolly in Dublin.The Canada remarks come amid an escalating trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa. The US Trade Representative said this week that Canada had walked away from what Washington described as a near-final trade deal and announced further measures targeting certain Canadian products.Trump also drew attention during his Dublin visit by saying he would “love” to see Ireland unified, adding that he believed it would happen eventually and would be a “fantastic thing”. His remarks prompted a sharp response from pro-British unionists in Northern Ireland.“Well, I don’t want to cause any problems, but I will tell you, I’d love to see it unified,” Trump said alongside Martin. “It’s going to happen eventually … I think it would be a fantastic thing.”Trump later described Irish reunification as a “very cool thing”, while acknowledging that the UK would have a say. Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, a referendum on Northern Ireland’s constitutional status can be called by the British government under specified conditions.The remarks marked a departure from the traditionally cautious US position on Irish reunification. The US played a key role in the peace process that culminated in the 1998 agreement.Trump joked about the concentration of US medical companies in Ireland, saying, “You took all our medical companies, we’ve got to get a couple of them back.”“You fleeced us but that’s okay… There’s a lot of room to go around and our relationship with you is fantastic,” Trump said.Trump is due to attend the Irish Open at his Doonbeg resort later in his visit. The trip has also drawn protests in Dublin and western Ireland, with Irish authorities mounting a major security operation around the president’s movements.
