Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took part in a historic visit with President Barack Obama earlier this month when he made the first official visit by a Canadian leader to the White House in 19 years. 

During the three-day visit that included a state dinner, Obama and Trudeau emphasized the the U.S. and Canada's long and productive relationship and highlighted a need for further cooperation to advance trade, generate growth and address environmental and security issues in North America and beyond.

On March 10 the two leaders issued the U.S.-Canada Joint Statement on Climate, Energy, and Arctic Leadership.

In regard to climate change, Obama and Trudeau agreed to formally join the Paris Agreement, and to take actions to reduce methane, hydroflurocarbon and greenhouse gas emissions.

The leaders pledged to help facilitate integration of renewable energy sources into grids, accelerate clean energy innovation and develop a joint strategy to strengthen the security and resilience of the North American electricity grid.

Aligning and improving energy efficiency standards in appliances was also on the list of desired energy outcomes; the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) has helped gather input from stakeholders for this initiative as part of the US-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council.

In the joint statement, Obama and Trudeau also announced a new, shared Arctic leadership model. Major goals include protecting land and marine areas, incorporating Indigenous science and traditional knowledge into decision-making, building a sustainable Arctic economy that includes shipping, fishing and oil and gas development and supporting Arctic Communities. 

Transcript of the press conference following the statement, courtesy of The White House.

Trudeau and Obama also reinforced their commitment to bring into force the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Land, Rail, Marine, and Air Transport Preclearance. A Canadian fact sheet prepared for the meeting notes that Canada intends to introduce legislation in Spring of 2016 to implement the preclearance agreement and expand preclearance to rail service in Vancouver, British Columbia. 

Bipartisan bills to facilitate U.S. preclearance operation in Canada were introduced in the House and Senate on March 1. A good rundown of the news, with a quote from PNWER Executive Director Matt Morrison, is available from Global Trade magazine.

PNWER has been a leader in pushing preclearance forward. Through monthly calls with our Preclearance Task Force, consisting of public and private border stakeholders, we are developing a preclearance implementation strategy for our region. We have also worked with congressional staff in the Pacific Northwest and across the country to help explain the economic and security benefits of the agreement.

The major issue of a lapsed Softwood Lumber Agreement was not resolved, but both leaders committed to continue to work on the issue and report back in 100 days.

Here's a brief overview of the softwood lumber dispute and recent news, from Dickinson Wright. 

U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman, center, with former U.S.-Canada Ambassadors David Wilkins, left, Gordon Giffin (Canada), David Jacobson and James Blanchard.

Morrison, who attended both the official welcome for Trudeau on the White House lawn, and a private luncheon hosted by Secretary John Kerry and the Prime Minister at the US State Department, said it was inspiring to see the leaders of Canada and the United States come together and reaffirm their long bonds of friendship and commitment to future cooperation.

"Canada and the US share the largest trading relationship in the world, and our relationship is critical to the Pacific Northwest," Morrison said. "We are glad to see our countries' leaders draw on a long history of collaboration to develop a common vision for these vital issues."

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