WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday he had a “great conversation” with Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club after the president-elect threatened to impose significant customs tariffs on two of the main American players. trading partners have sounded the alarm in Ottawa and Mexico.
It was unclear as Trudeau returned to Canada from Florida whether the conversation had assuaged Trump’s concerns.
A person familiar with the details of the hastily arranged meeting between the leaders Friday evening said it was a “positive, wide-ranging dinner that lasted three hours.”
The official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said topics included trade, border security, fentanyl, defense , Ukraine, NATO, China, the Middle East and pipelines, as well as the Group of Seven meeting in Canada next year.
The Republican president-elect has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if those countries don’t stop what he calls the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders. He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the United States from Canada and Mexico, which would be one of his first executive orders when he takes office in January.
As he left his West Palm Beach hotel, Trudeau briefly stopped to answer a reporter’s question about the dinner meeting, saying it was “a great conversation.” Trump’s transition team did not respond to questions about the leaders’ discussions.
Trump, during his first term as president, once called Trudeau “weak” and “dishonest,” but it was the prime minister who was the first G7 leader to visit Trump since the elections. November 5.
“Tariffs are a critical issue for Canada and a bold decision was required. It was perhaps a risk, but a risk worth taking,” said Daniel Béland, professor of political science at McGill University in Montreal.
Trudeau said earlier Friday that he would resolve the tariff issue by talking with Trump. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said a day earlier, after speaking with Trump, that she was confident a tariff war with the United States would be avoided.
Trudeau said Trump was elected because he promised to lower the cost of groceries, but now he’s talking about raising the cost of all kinds of goods, including potatoes, by 25%. Prince Edward Island, in Atlantic Canada.
“It is important to understand that Donald Trump, when he makes such statements, intends to carry them out. There is no doubt about it,” Trudeau said before leaving for Florida.
“Our responsibility is to emphasize that it would not only harm Canadians, who work so well with the United States, but it would also raise prices for American citizens and harm American industry and businesses.” , he added.
For Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, Trump “does not need to be convinced that new tariffs on Canadian products would not be in the interest of the United States. He knows it, but he can’t say it because it would undermine what he said publicly. His goal is to project the image he acts when he speaks.
These tariffs could essentially blow up the North American trade deal negotiated by Trump’s team during his first term. Trudeau stressed that they managed to renegotiate the agreement, which he called a “win-win” for both countries.
Trump on Monday threatened tariffs, citing an influx of migrants entering the country illegally, even though the numbers at the Canadian border pale in comparison to those at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump also spoke about fentanyl coming from Mexico and Canada, although seizures at the Canadian border are few compared to the Mexican border.
Canadian officials say it’s unfair to group Canada and Mexico together, but they say they’re willing to invest in border security.
When Trump imposed higher tariffs during his first term, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for example, announced billions in new tariffs in 2018 against the United States in response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Canada is the primary export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly C$3.6 billion (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border every day.
