Morneau to meet with American counterpart in Ottawa next week

Finance Minister Bill Morneau is to meet with his American counterpart in Ottawa next week.

Morneau says he looks forward to the June 9 meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

It's Mnuchin's first visit to Ottawa since becoming treasury secretary, but he and Morneau aren't strangers.

Morneau met with Mnuchin on the sidelines this month at a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Italy where the issue of American softwood lumber duties was discussed.

The two men also spoke at a G20 meeting in Germany earlier this year where they talked about the importance of strengthening the middle class.

A notice of the meeting from Morneau's office didn't say what specifically was on the agenda, but Canadian officials have pointed out how the two countries' economies are integrated and that nearly nine million American jobs depend on trade with Canada.