Canada's Prime Minister Meets Trump, Abortion Lawsuit Surprise, Film Tariffs

Summary

Up First from NPR – May 6, 2025

In this episode of NPR's Up First, hosts Leila Fadel, Steve Inskeep, Michel Martin, and A Martinez delve into three significant stories shaping the day: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meeting with President Donald Trump, unexpected developments in an abortion medication lawsuit, and President Trump’s controversial imposition of tariffs on foreign films. Below is a comprehensive summary of the episode's key discussions, insights, and conclusions.

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1. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Visit to the White House

Overview: Canada's newly elected Prime Minister, Mark Carney, visited the White House in an important diplomatic engagement amid tense US-Canada relations under President Trump. Carney's approach and the potential outcomes of this meeting were central to the discussion.

Key Points:

• Trump’s Stance on Canada: President Trump has consistently taken a hardline stance against Canada, implementing tariffs that have significantly impacted the Canadian economy. He has also made provocative remarks about integrating Canada into the United States, referring to it as the "51st state."

  Deepa Shivaram [03:27]: “If Canada was a state, it wouldn't cost us. It would be great. It would be such a great, it would be a cherished state.”

• Mark Carney’s Election and Platform: Carney won the Canadian election with an anti-Trump message, emphasizing the need for Canada to forge its own path and reduce economic dependence on the U.S. This sentiment was reflected in his remarks during the election.

  Mandalit del Barco [04:31]: “Canada sells more than it buys. And like you heard in that NBC interview, that clip you just played, Trump continues to say he wants to make Canada into America's 51st state.”

• Potential for Relations Reset: Analysts suggest that Carney aims to balance standing up for Canadian interests while seeking a more constructive relationship with Trump. There is speculation that this meeting could serve as an opportunity to reset strained relations.

  Asa McKercher [05:33]: “Mr. Trump continues to say he wants to make Canada into America's 51st state… Carney has to play this balancing act right of standing up for Canada, but also not irking Trump.”

• Implications for Trade and Diplomacy: Carney has indicated that the traditional relationship between the U.S. and Canada has changed, highlighting the need for new trade agreements and seeking more reliable international partners beyond the U.S.

  Mandalit del Barco [06:07]: “Carney told Canadian reporters a few days ago not to expect white smoke out of this meeting on a new trade deal.”

Conclusion: Mark Carney's visit to the White House is a critical juncture in US-Canada relations. While the meeting may not result in immediate trade agreements, it symbolizes Canada's intent to assert its autonomy and seek a more balanced partnership with the United States.

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2. Abortion Medication Lawsuit Developments

Overview: The Trump administration's Justice Department has taken an unexpected step by seeking to dismiss a lawsuit that challenges the FDA's regulations on mifepristone, a medication used for abortions. This move aligns the administration with the Biden administration's previous stance, raising questions about future abortion policies.

Key Points:

• The Lawsuit: The case challenges the FDA’s rules regarding mifepristone, a drug used for medication-induced abortions and managing miscarriages. Initially rejected by the Supreme Court, the case has been revived by three states: Missouri, Idaho, and Kansas.

  Selena Simmons Duffin [07:07]: “It's challenging the Food and Drug Administration's rules about mifepristone… three states, Missouri, Idaho, and Kansas, have intervened.”

• Justice Department’s Filing: The Trump administration’s position to dismiss the case mirrors the Biden administration's stance, which was unexpected given the typically conservative approach to abortion.

  Selena Simmons Duffin [07:46]: “They took that position in a filing on Monday, and this was a bit surprising because that's the same position the Biden administration's Justice Department had made.”

• Potential Implications: Experts caution that despite the dismissal, the Trump administration may still pursue restrictive measures on medication abortion through other avenues, such as implementing additional FDA restrictions.

  Selena Simmons Duffin [08:11]: “The jury is still out essentially of how aggressive the Trump administration is going to be on medication abortion.”

• Regulatory Flexibility: The FDA, under new Commissioner Marty McCary, has stated there are no current plans to restrict mifepristone. However, this could change, potentially limiting access to abortion medications.

  Selena Simmons Duffin [09:03]: “The new FDA Commissioner Marty McCary, said publicly in April there were, quote, no plans for FDA to restrict mifepristone.”

Conclusion: While the Trump administration's attempt to dismiss the abortion medication lawsuit appears conciliatory, the potential for future regulatory actions remains uncertain. The administration's stance suggests a complex approach to abortion policies, balancing legal strategies with possible direct regulatory changes.

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3. President Trump’s 100% Tariff on Foreign Films

Overview: In a surprising move, President Trump announced a 100% tariff on foreign-produced movies, sparking confusion and concern within the global film industry. This decision aims to protect and revive the American film industry but has broader international implications.

Key Points:

• The Tariff Announcement: President Trump declared a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the United States, citing the decline of the American film industry due to foreign incentives.

  Michelle Martin [10:12]: “President Trump's initial announcement was surprising. It left so many questions.”

• Industry Reactions: The announcement has left studios and industry professionals puzzled about the practical implementation, including which parties would bear the tariffs and how it would affect ticket prices and international collaborations.

  Jon Voight [10:45]: “Will ticket prices go up? Would this be for international films or for American films shooting or filming on location or on sound stages around the world?”

• Global Incentives and Competition: Trump criticized other countries for offering generous tax incentives, rebates, and grants to attract film productions, arguing that these incentives undermine the U.S. film industry's competitiveness.

  Jon Voight [11:35]: “Places like Canada, the UK, Australia… they've offered productions generous tax incentives, rebates and grants to shoot or film in their countries.”

• International Concerns: Foreign studios and unions fear that the tariff could decimate their production industries and may retaliate by imposing their own tariffs on American films, escalating into a trade conflict.

  Jon Voight [12:00]: “Studios and unions around the world are worried that this could spell the end of their own production industries.”

• Trump’s Engagement with Hollywood: To mitigate backlash, Trump has sought support from Hollywood figures, positioning himself as a champion of the film industry and proposing federal tax incentives to rescue American showbiz.

  Deepa Shivaram [12:27]: “Loves the entertainment business, wants to see Hollywood thrive and make films bigger and greater than ever before.”

Conclusion: President Trump's imposition of a 100% tariff on foreign films represents a bold attempt to shield and rejuvenate the American film industry. However, the move may provoke significant resistance from international partners and within the global entertainment community, potentially leading to retaliatory measures and a fragmented global film market.

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Final Thoughts

Today's Up First episode provided in-depth coverage of international diplomacy, domestic legal battles, and significant economic policy shifts. From Prime Minister Carney's strategic meeting with President Trump to the evolving landscape of abortion medication regulations and the tumultuous changes in the global film industry, these stories underscore the complex interplay of politics, law, and economics shaping our world.

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Notable Quotes:

• Deepa Shivaram [03:27]: “If Canada was a state, it wouldn't cost us. It would be great. It would be such a great, it would be a cherished state.”

• Mandalit del Barco [04:37]: “America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. Never. But these are not. These are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us.”

• Selena Simmons Duffin [08:11]: “The jury is still out essentially of how aggressive the Trump administration is going to be on medication abortion.”

• Jon Voight [11:35]: “Places like Canada, the UK, Australia… they've offered productions generous tax incentives, rebates and grants to shoot or film in their countries.”

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For more detailed analysis and daily updates, subscribe to Up First on your preferred podcast platform and support your local NPR station at donate.npr.org.

Transcript

[A Martinez]

Before we start the show, you may have heard that President Trump has issued an executive order seeking to block all federal funding to npr. This is the latest in a series of threats to media organizations across the country. Millions of people, people just like you, depend on the NPR network as a vital source of news, entertainment, information and connection. We're proud to be here for you. And now more than ever, we need you to be here for us. It's time to join the movement to defend public media. Visit donate.NPR. or and if you already support us via NPR or any other means, thank you. Your support means so much to us. Now more than ever before. You help make NPR shows freely available to everyone, and we're very proud to do this work for you and with you.

[Michelle Martin]

Canada's new prime Minister, Mark Carney is visiting the White House today.

[A Martinez]

Carney ran and won, promising to fight Trump on tariffs and musings about taking over. So how will this visit?

[Michelle Martin]

I'm Michelle Martin. That's A Martinez. And this is up first from NPR News. The Justice Department is moving to dismiss a case restricting access to abortion medication, which puts them on the same side of the issue as the Biden administration was and most Democrats are now.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

I would say the jury is still out essentially of how aggressive the Trump administration is going to be on medication, abortion.

[Michelle Martin]

What's the strategy here?

[A Martinez]

And President Trump wants higher tariffs on a new category of foreign imports, the movies.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Our industry recently has suffered great greatly and many Americans have lost jobs to productions that have gone overseas.

[A Martinez]

Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start your day.

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[A Martinez]

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House today.

[Michelle Martin]

Yes, the meeting comes as Trump has repeatedly offended the longtime ally and ally and trading partner with tariffs that hit Canada hard and musings about somehow making Canada into the 51st state. Here's Trump in an interview with NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday.

[Deepa Shivaram]

If Canada was a state, it wouldn't cost us. It would be great. It would be such a great, it would be a cherished state.

[Michelle Martin]

When asked if he'll bring up the idea with Carney, Trump said he will always bring it up. So it could be an interesting meeting.

[A Martinez]

NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram joins us now with more. So Trump's choice of words and his policies have played a role in Canada's election. So what has Carney been saying about the Trump in the U.S. hey, yeah.

[Mandalit del Barco]

So the thing to keep in mind about Carney is that he won this election running with an anti Trump message. Canadians were voting as Trump was ramping up his tariff war. And Canada's economy is highly dependent on exports to the US And Trump doesn't like that. Canada sells more than it buys. And like you heard in that NBC interview, that clip you just played, Trump continues to say he wants to make Canada into America's 51st state. So the election there was seen as a referendum against Trump. Carney has a background in banking and has never held an elected position before. And he ran with the argument that Canada needs to forge its own path and be less reliant on the U.S. yeah.

[A Martinez]

So Carney hasn't been really shying away from Trump's rhetoric at all.

[Mandalit del Barco]

Yeah, exactly. I mean, here's what Carney said on election night.

[A Martinez]

America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. Never. But these are not. These are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us.

[Mandalit del Barco]

It's typical for new Canadian prime ministers to make their first foreign trip to the US But Carney instead chose to go to Europe. And that sends a certain message.

[A Martinez]

Yeah, sounds like it might, given the contentious climate. Then how is this meeting supposed to go?

[Mandalit del Barco]

So I Talked to Asa McKercher. He's a professor of public policy at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, and he says Carney has to play this balancing act right of standing up for Canada, but also not irking Trump, which is kind of tricky. But he says Carney could have a less conflicted relationship with Trump compared to his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, who Trump often mocked.

[Asa McKercher]

There seems to be a different tone of emphasis, I think, with Mark Carney as prime minister. Now, obviously, Mr. Trump's still talking about the 51st state stuff, but he's not called him Governor Carney, you know, he's called him a very nice man. And I think Mr. Carney certainly looks like kind of a nerdy central bank kind of guy. And I think for Mr. Trump, who obviously likes kind of central casting figures, you know, I think Mr. Carney looks that part.

[Mandalit del Barco]

And he also says that the meeting might be a chance for Trump and Carney to kind of have a reset.

[A Martinez]

Yeah, but Carney himself has said that the old relationship between the U.S. and Canada is over.

[Mandalit del Barco]

Yeah, you know, it's a pretty unprecedented thing to say, but it speaks to how much relations have soured since Trump's tariff war. Carney told Canadian reporters a few days ago not to expect white smoke out of this meeting on a new trade deal. And, you know, he's referencing the smoke signal that goes up when a new pope is chosen. So he's already tempering expectations. But, you know, at the same time, Canada is already looking for new, more reliable trading partners. There's reports that South Korean companies are pitching sales of military equipment to Canada, which is significant because in the past, Canada's gotten most of their defense products.

[A Martinez]

From the U.S. that's NPR's Diva Shiran. Thanks a lot.

[Mandalit del Barco]

Thank you.

[A Martinez]

The Trump administration has been fairly quiet on abortion so far.

[Michelle Martin]

But on Monday, Trump's Justice Department asked the federal court to dismiss a case that could seriously restrict access to abortion nationally.

[A Martinez]

NPR's Selena Simmons Duffin has been following this particular case for several years now. So tell us about this case, Selena.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

Well, it's challenging the Food and Drug Administration's rules about mifepristone, which is one of the pills used for medication abortion. It's also used to manage miscarriages. And if you're thinking, didn't the Supreme Court already reject that case? You would be right, kind of. The justices last year rejected the original challenge brought by a group of Christian doctors. But now three states, Missouri, Idaho, and Kansas, have intervened, and they're arguing essentially they can't ban abortion if residents can receive this medication through the mail. So they're taking up this challenge to FDA's decisions about medication abortion again.

[A Martinez]

So that's what the Trump administration's Justice Department wants to dismiss.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

Yeah, exactly. They took that position in a filing on Monday, and this was a bit surprising because that's the same position the Biden administration's Justice Department had made. And you might not expect a lot of continuity when it comes to abortion between these two administrations.

[A Martinez]

Does that mean, though, that the Trump administration is planning to go easy on new abortion restrictions this time around? Because the president has pointed out many times that the justices that he appointed were responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

Yeah, I don't think that's necessarily what it means. That's in part because the federal judge in Texas who's presiding, Judge Matthew Kaczmarek, is known to be very receptive to anti abortion arguments. So this case might continue regardless of what the Trump administration wants to do. Also, this is not the only tool in the Trump administration's toolbox when it comes to restricting abortion. Katie Keith is the director of the Georgetown center for Health Policy and the Law and formally served on Biden's Gender Policy Council. I would say the jury is still out essentially of how aggressive the Trump administration is going to be on medication abortion. She says if they want to restrict access, they could. For example, the Trump administration's FDA could just go ahead and add restrictions on who can get this medication and how without being required to by the court.

[A Martinez]

You think the FDA would do that?

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

You know, it's hard to predict. The new FDA Commissioner Marty McCary, said publicly in April there were, quote, no plans for FDA to restrict mifeprostone. But plans can change. This is a medication that's been approved for almost 25 years. It's been found to be safe and effective in ending a pregnancy, along with another medication called misoprostol. And it's a medication that's used globally. The World Health Organization says it can be used safely in the first trimester of pregnancy without the direct supervision of a healthcare provider. The FDA here in this country made the same determination. And what's happened since Roe v. Wade was overturned nearly three years ago is that half of states have banned abortion, but the total number of abortions nationally has gone up in part because people have been able to get this medication through the mail. There are a lot of ways that the Trump administration could try to tamp down on that outside of this court case if it wants to. And that's what remains to be seen.

[Deepa Shivaram]

All right.

[A Martinez]

NPR's Selena Simmons Duffin covers health policies. Selena, thanks.

[Selena Simmons Duffin]

You're welcome.

[A Martinez]

The film industry started the week with a little confusion.

[Michelle Martin]

That was after President Trump announced on Truth Social that he was imposing a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the US on Sunday night, he posted that quote, the movie industry in America is dying a very fast death. Other countries are offering all sorts of incentives, incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States, unquote.

[A Martinez]

NPR entertainment correspondent Mandalita Barco joins us now to talk about this. So you know, Mandalit, the basic question is probably going to spring up more questions. So how would 100% tariff on films made outside the US actually work?

[Jon Voight]

Yeah, that's exactly what everyone in Hollywood and in film and TV industries around the world would like to know. President Trump's initial announcement was surprising. It left so many questions. Who would have to pay a tariff? The studios, film distributors. Will ticket prices go up? Would this be for international films or for American films shooting or filming on location or on sound stages around the world? What about TV and streaming shows? There have been a lot of emergency closed door meetings, group chats and social media speculation. Studios have been quiet so far. But the head of iatse, the union representing behind the scenes entertainment workers, says any plan must not harm the US Or Canadian film industries.

[A Martinez]

The president says other countries are offering incentives to attract movie studios and filmmakers. So can you tell us about the incentives that he was referring to? I know that you have been reporting on this.

[Jon Voight]

Yeah, that's right. And it's true that for decades, places like Canada, the uk, Australia, and really all over the world, they've offered productions generous tax incentives, rebates and grants to shoot or film in their countries. Some have even built new sound stages to entice productions wanting to cut costs. Trump says the global incentives are a threat to the national security.

[A Martinez]

Okay, so what are people overseas saying about this announcement from Trump?

[Jon Voight]

You can imagine a studios and unions around the world are worried that this could spell the end of their own production industries. Some wonder if countries will retaliate with their own tariffs on American films. Yesterday, President Trump told reporters he wants to meet the film industry in this country to make sure they're happy with his plan to bring back showbiz jobs.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Hollywood doesn't do very much of that business. They have the nice sign and everything's good, but they don't do very much.

[A Martinez]

All right, so why do you think this issue came up at all for President Trump?

[Jon Voight]

Well, I'll give you a hint, Jon Voight. Trump calls the actor one of his special ambassadors, along with Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson in a video shared with npr, Voight calls Trump the greatest president since Abe Lincoln and his friend, who.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Loves the entertainment business, wants to see Hollywood thrive and make films bigger and greater than ever before.

[Jon Voight]

John Voight says he presented Trump a plan to rescue the American film industry with federal tax incentives, co production treaties with other countries and subsidies for theater owners and film and TV production companies. Late last week, Voight also met with California Senator Ben Allen, who co authored a state bill that would expand film and TV incentives, along with California Governor Gavin Newsom's plan to more than double the state's production tax credits. Trump blamed the governor for allowing productions to leave California. But late last night, Newsom said in a statement that he wants to team up with the Trump administration to create a $7.5 billion federal film tax credit.

[A Martinez]

All right, that's NPR's Mandalit del Barco. Thanks a lot.

[Jon Voight]

Thank you. A.

[A Martinez]

And that's up first for Tuesday, May 6th.

[Michelle Martin]

Amy Martinez and I'm Michelle Martin. Your next listen is Consider this from npr. We here at up first give you the three big stories of the day. Our Consider this colleagues take a different approach. They dive into a single news story and what it means to you. Learn about a big story of the day in less than 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[A Martinez]

Today's episode of up first was edited by Roberta Rampton, Diane Weber, Jane Greenholsh, Sierra Crawford, Janaya Williams and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Katie Klein, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.

[N/A]

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