A person familiar with the details of Friday’s hastily arranged meeting said it was a “positive three-hour dinner.” The official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said the topics included trade, border security, fentanyl, defense, Ukraine, NATO, China, the Middle East and pipelines, as well as the Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Canada next year.
The Republican president-elect has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if those countries do not stop what he says is the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders. He said he would impose a 25 percent tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders when he takes office in January.
As he left his West Palm Beach hotel, Trudeau paused briefly to answer reporters’ questions about the dinner meeting, saying it was “a very good conversation.” Trump’s transition team did not respond to questions about what the leaders discussed.
Trump, during his first term as president, once called Trudeau “weak” and “dishonest,” but the prime minister is the first G7 leader to visit Trump since the Nov. 5 election.
“Tariffs are an important issue for Canada and a bold move is in order. Maybe it’s a risk, but a risk worth taking,” Daniel Beland, professor of political science at McGill University in Montreal. Among those at the dinner were Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick for secretary of commerce; North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, in line to lead the Department of the Interior; and Mike Waltz, Trump’s pick for national security adviser. Accompanying Trudeau are Canada’s public safety minister, Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security, and Katie Telford, Trudeau’s chief of staff.
Trudeau had said earlier on Friday that he would resolve the tariff issue by talking to Trump.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the day before after speaking with Trump that she believed a tariff war with the United States would be avoided.
Trudeau said Trump was elected because he promised to lower grocery costs, but now he’s talking about a 25 percent increase on all kinds of produce, including potatoes from Prince Edward Island in Atlantic Canada.
“It’s important to understand that Donald Trump, when he makes a statement like that, he plans to do it. There’s no question about it,” Trudeau said before leaving for Florida.
“Our responsibility is to say that not only will they harm Canadians, who work well with the United States, but they will also raise prices for American citizens and harm American industry and business,” he said.
For Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, Trump “doesn’t need to be convinced that the new tariffs on Canadian products will not be in the US interest. He knows, but he can’t say it because it will reduce what he has said in public. The goal is to portray an image that done as he spoke.
The tariffs could affect the North American trade pact that Trump’s team negotiated during his first term. Trudeau noted that he was able to successfully renegotiate the deal, which he called a “win-win” for both countries.
Trump made the threat of tariffs Monday as he cited the influx of migrants entering the country illegally, though the numbers at the Canadian border pale in comparison to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump also talked about fentanyl from Mexico and Canada, although the seizures from the Canadian border are small compared to the Mexican border.
Canadian officials say engaging Canada with Mexico is unfair, but say they are ready to make new investments 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 duties in 2018 against the US in response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Nearly 3.6 billion Canadian dollars (USD 2.7 billion) in goods and services cross the border every day.
