WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Canadian High Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Florida on Friday to enjoy dinner with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago membership after Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian merchandise.
Trump threatened to impose tariffs on merchandise from Canada and Mexico if they don’t surrender what he referred to as the drift of substances and migrants across their borders. He said he would impose a 25% tax on all merchandise coming into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one among his first govt orders.
A person accustomed to the principle points referred to as it a “definite extensive-ranging dinner that lasted three hours.” The official, who used to be now not licensed to focus on publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on situation of anonymity, said issues included commerce, border safety, fentanyl, defense, Ukraine, NATO, China and pipelines, as successfully because the the Community of Seven meeting in Canada next year.
Even when Trump as soon as referred to as Trudeau “historical” and “dishonest” in the route of his first length of time, ties between the two countries enjoy remained among the closest in the enviornment. Trudeau is the critical leader from the G7 countries to focus on over with Trump since the Nov. 5 election.
Joining Trump and Trudeau at dinner enjoy been Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Division, Mike Waltz, Trump’s possibility to be his nationwide safety adviser, and the three men’s better halves.
Furthermore on the dinner enjoy been David McCormick, true elected U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, and his accomplice, Dina Powell, a frail deputy nationwide safety adviser below Trump, as successfully as Canadian Public Security Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities consist of border safety, and Katie Telford, Trudeau’s chief of personnel.
McCormick posted a photograph on X of the team seated at a spherical table on the patio of Mar-a-Lago. At the table in the attend of the president-elect a boy can even be seen mugging for the digicam.
Trump’s transition did now not acknowledge to questions about what they had discussed or whether the dialog alleviated Trump’s concerns about the border.
A smiling Trudeau declined comment upon returning to his West Palm Seashore lodge unhurried Friday.
Trudeau said earlier Friday that he would ranking to the underside of the tariffs grief by talking to Trump. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday after talking with Trump that she is confident a tariff battle with the United States shall be averted.
“We’re going to work collectively to meet some of the worries,” Trudeau urged reporters in Prince Edward Island in Atlantic Canada. “But sooner or later it is far through lots of accurate constructive conversations with President Trump that I’m going to enjoy, that can save us inspiring forward on the upright track for all Canadians.”
Trudeau said Trump bought elected because he promised to bring down the value of groceries but now he is talking about adding 25% to the value of all kinds of merchandise including potatoes from Prince Edward Island.
“It’s serious to realise that Donald Trump, when he makes statements love that, he plans on carrying them out. There’s no interrogate about it,” Trudeau said.
“Our responsibility is to level out that he wouldn’t true be harming Canadians, who work so successfully with the United States, but he would in fact be elevating prices for People voters as successfully and hurting American commerce and industry,” he added.
These tariffs might maybe maybe well in fact blow up the North American commerce pact that Trump’s team negotiated in the route of his preliminary length of time. Trudeau eminent they enjoy been ready to successfully re-negotiate the deal, which he calls a “ranking ranking” for both countries.
“We can work collectively as we did previously,” Trudeau said.
Trump made the tariff probability Monday whereas railing in opposition to an influx of unlawful migrants, even supposing the numbers on the Canadian border pale when put next with the southern border.
The U.S. Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests on the Mexican border in October alone — and 23,721 arrests on the Canadian one between October 2023 and September 2024.
Trump also railed about fentanyl from Mexico and Canada, even supposing seizures from the Canadian border are few when put next with the Mexican border. U.S. customs brokers seized 43 kilos of fentanyl on the Canadian border final fiscal year, in contrast with 21,100 kilos on the Mexican border.
Canadian officers insist lumping Canada in with Mexico is unfair but insist they are ready to ranking contemporary investments in border safety.
Trudeau referred to as Trump after he made his social media posts on the border.
When Trump imposed bigger tariffs in the route of his first length of time in location of job, other countries spoke back with retaliatory tariffs of their very enjoy. Canada, shall we embrace, introduced billions of newest duties in 2018 in opposition to the U.S. in a tit-for-tat response to contemporary taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Canada is already examining that you just presumably can assume retaliatory tariffs on definite objects from the U.S. ought to Trump put collectively through on his probability to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian merchandise, a senior official urged The Associated Press this week.
A authorities official said Canada is making ready for every eventuality and has started severe about what objects to target with tariffs in retaliation. The official harassed no decision has been made. The person spoke on situation of anonymity as they weren’t licensed to focus on publicly.
Canada is the live export destination for 36 U.S. states. Almost $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) value of items and products and services unhealthy the border on a traditional foundation.
About 60% of U.S. gross oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electrical energy imports are from Canada.
Canada is also the biggest foreign dealer of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 serious minerals and metals that the Pentagon is alive to for and investing in for nationwide safety.
Canada is one among basically the most commerce-dependent countries in the enviornment, and 77% of Canada’s exports trot to the U.S.
“Canada has cause to fear because Trump is impulsive, assuredly influenced by the last thing he sees on Fox News,” said Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus on the University of Toronto. “He can leverage that by catering to what he thinks will sound and perceive ideal to the public rather then to what happens or will happen.”
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Gillies reported from Toronto.
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This tale has been corrected to ponder that the U.S. election used to be Nov. 5, now not Nov. 4.
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