Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a shift in Canada’s trade strategy, another party splinter in French budget negotiations, and European leaders debating how to use frozen Russian assets.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney embarked on his first official visit to Asia on Friday in an effort to deepen trade and security cooperation with Ottawa’s Asia-Pacific partners. But a U.S.-sized shadow looms large over Carney’s trip, and economists are curious to see whether the Canadian premier will make good on his promise to diversify Canadian exports away from the United States.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a shift in Canada’s trade strategy, another party splinter in French budget negotiations, and European leaders debating how to use frozen Russian assets.

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney embarked on his first official visit to Asia on Friday in an effort to deepen trade and security cooperation with Ottawa’s Asia-Pacific partners. But a U.S.-sized shadow looms large over Carney’s trip, and economists are curious to see whether the Canadian premier will make good on his promise to diversify Canadian exports away from the United States.

For months, Ottawa and Washington have been locked in a high-stakes trade war, with the White House imposing hefty tariffs on Canadian goods and threatening to make Canada the 51st U.S. state; Canada is the United States’ second-largest trading partner, and Ottawa relies on Washington for around 75 percent of its exported products.

However, trade relations reached new lows late Thursday, when U.S. President Donald Trump terminated talks with Canada over an Ontario government ad that uses former Republican President Ronald Reagan’s voice to denounce tariffs.

The audio in the ad, which was broadcast to U.S. audiences, came from an April 1987 radio address, during which Reagan urged the U.S. Congress not to pursue protectionist policies against Japan. The quotes, taken from different parts of........

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