There is no "immediate decision pending" on whether the U.S. will send more troops or resources to Afghanistan, U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday after a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Obama and Harper discussed trade issues, energy and the economy in addition to Afghanistan in the hour-long meeting at the White House.
Harper said he welcomed America's renewed engagement in Afghanistan, where Canadian Forces have been fighting for eight years.
Obama, who called Harper an "outstanding partner" to the United States, said he was "tremendously grateful for the extraordinary sacrifices of the Canadian military" in Afghanistan.
But he said he wants to map out a strategy for the Afghan situation before committing more resources.
Harper also made a pitch during the meeting for an exclusion for Canada from recent "Buy American" provisions.
Harper and Obama said the two sides were looking into ways of addressing the issue, including the possibility of including the provinces in a multilateral deal.
Both leaders said the trade irritant was not going to affect trade relations between the U.S. and Canada.
"There is no prospect of any budding trade wars between the two countries," said Obama.
Tentative deal on charter flight restrictions
Harper did say the two leaders had reached a "tentative agreement in principle" on restrictions on charter flights to U.S. cities, an issue that has angered Canadian NHL teams.
This was Harper's first trip to the White House since Obama assumed office in January and was an important meeting in advance of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh next week.
Harper has raised the "Buy American" clause every time he's met with the U.S. president this year, including during Obama's visit to Ottawa in February.
The provision, which is included in the U.S. stimulus package, gives priority to U.S. iron, steel and other manufactured goods for use in state-level and municipal public works and building projects funded with taxpayer stimulus money. Canadian governments and businesses have railed against the policy.
Harper is scheduled to follow up his meeting with Obama with sit-downs with top U.S. legislators, including Senate majority leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Meetings between the prime minister and U.S. legislators are unusual, but Harper has said real progress in trade talks cannot likely be made without the support of Congress.
"In the American system, particularly when it comes to issues of trade and protectionism, often our bigger challenges are in Congress, as opposed to the administration," Harper had said Tuesday in advance of his meeting with Obama.
"So far the administration has responded quite positively to our offers and our attempts to deal with this. But it may be the case that the administration alone can't deal with it."
The meetings with congressional leaders will be focused on "underscoring the importance of our economic relationship," said Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, who along with Environment Minister Jim Prentice and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan accompanied Harper on the trip.
"It's important once again to not fall back to the pitfalls of the periods that were in the '30s and early '40s," Cannon told CBC News on Tuesday.
The prime minister will travel to New York on Thursday, where he will address the Canadian-American Business Council and the Canadian Association of New York.
