Over dinner, Obama and Trudeau to celebrate thaw in U.S.-Canada relations

By Roberta Rampton and David Ljunggren
WASHINGTON, March 10 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama was
preparing a red-carpet welcome for Canadian Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau at the White House on Thursday, ending a frosty
period in U.S.-Canada relations and celebrating their shared
goals on climate and trade.
Obama will host Trudeau, the Liberal Party leader who took
office in November, for an Oval Office meeting where they will
talk about curbing climate emissions from oil and gas fields - a
dramatic shift from years of debate over building the Keystone
XL oil pipeline, a project Obama blocked last year.
Also on the agenda are plans to expedite travel and trade
between the two countries, and shared areas of global concern
ranging from Syria to Ukraine.
"We are two countries that are, in every sense of the word,
inseparable," Susan Rice, Obama's national security adviser,
told Reuters.
The leaders are slated to hold a news conference at 11:40
a.m. (1640 GMT) in the Rose Garden.
Later, they will toast each other at a lavish state dinner
planned with a theme of "Anticipation of Spring," a feeling
close to the hearts of Canadians, who endure long and harsh
winters.
The dinner will feature Colorado lamb, sidestepping what
could have been the awkward optics of a beef dish.
Canada won a World Trade Organization case last year against
a U.S. meat-labeling law for beef and pork. The law was repealed
in December, and the White House hopes that Canada formally ends
its lawsuit.
Trudeau, who is struggling at home with a soft economy and
weak Canadian dollar, campaigned on repairing strained ties.
"Few relationships matter as much to Canada as a good
relationship with the United States of America, for jobs, for
economic growth, for trade purposes, and building the kinds of
opportunities for Canadians right across the country that we
truly need," he said on Wednesday before leaving for Washington.
Americans have been captivated by the photogenic Trudeau,
44, whose father, Pierre Trudeau, was prime minister from 1968
through 1979, and again from 1980 to 1984.
But his visit may be overshadowed by the raucous race to
succeed Obama in the Nov. 8 presidential election. Candidates on
both the left and the right have taken anti-trade positions.
Obama hopes to convince a reluctant U.S. Congress to ratify
the sprawling Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact before he
leaves office in January. Canada is also wrestling with the
merits of the TPP. by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Peter Cooney)