On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke on the phone for nearly an hour about the trade war between the two countries. A slight reprieve was announced later that afternoon – but not necessarily because of that call. And at the center of all of these negotiations is one U.S. official: Howard Lutnick.

Nathan VanderKlippe is an international correspondent for The Globe and has been covering the Trump administration. He explains what happened on that call between the two leaders, which officials are working behind the scenes, and whether there are any ways to de-escalate this trade war.

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