The president said he will do “anything I can do to help Canada,” including raising Canada’s concerns over the detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, and over trade limits on agricultural exports with China’s Xi Jinping. The two presidents are scheduled to meet at the G20 Summit in Japan at the end of next week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Washington, D.C. on Thursday to discuss the ratification of the USMCA, softwood lumber tariffs, and possible duties on uranium. (Global News)

Talking point: Canada has been pushing the White House and senior members of Congress to intervene on its behalf with China for weeks. While Trump has previously called for the release of the two Canadians, his willingness to bring up trade issues with Xi is new. His intervention has grown even more important recently. Trudeau’s request to speak to Chinese premier Li Keqiang earlier this year was ignored and then ultimately rejected, and the Chinese foreign ministry suggested last week that it would continue to avoid direct contact with Ottawa until the extradition case against Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou is dropped. As it’s refusing to talk, China is increasing the pressure on Canadian agriculture—it suspended a third pork exporter on Tuesday. Whether Trump is sincere about raising these issues with Xi remains to be seen—next week’s meeting is likely to focus on the U.S.-China trade talks.