WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that President-elect Donald Trump and his club Mar I flew to Florida to have dinner at “Lago”.
President Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico unless the flow of drugs and immigrants across the border is stopped. He said one of his first executive orders would impose a 25% tax on all products imported into the United States from Canada and Mexico.
Read more: President Trump’s tariff threats put avocados, tequila and other iconic Mexican products at risk
A person familiar with the situation described it as “a positive and wide-ranging dinner that lasted three hours.” The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said topics include trade, border security, fentanyl, defense, Ukraine, NATO, China, pipelines and the G7 meeting. Ta. Next year in Canada.
Although Trump once called Trudeau “weak” and “disloyal” during his first term, the two countries remain among the closest in the world. Prime Minister Trudeau will be the first G7 leader to visit President Trump since the November 5 election.
At the dinner between President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau were Howard Lutnick, whom President Trump nominated for Secretary of Commerce, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, whom President Trump nominated to lead the Interior Department, and National Security Adviser Doug Burgum, whom President Trump nominated to lead the Interior Department. Mike Walz, who nominated him, and his three wives attended.
The dinner party included David McCormick, recently elected senator from Pennsylvania, and his wife, Dina Powell, who served as vice-presidential national security adviser in the Trump administration, and members of Canada’s Public Security Forces, who are in charge of border security and other matters. Ministers Dominic LeBlanc and Katie Telford also attended. , Prime Minister Trudeau’s chief of staff.
McCormick posted a photo to X of the group sitting at a round table on Mar-a-Lago’s patio. At a table behind the president-elect, a young boy can be seen robbing the camera.
Trump’s transition did not respond to questions about what was discussed or whether the conversation alleviated Trump’s concerns about the border.
Trudeau smiled and declined to comment as he returned to his West Palm Beach hotel late Friday.
Prime Minister Trudeau said early Friday that he would talk to President Trump to resolve the tariff issue. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday she was confident a tariff war with the United States would be avoided after meeting with President Trump.
“We’re going to work together to address some of the concerns,” Trudeau told reporters on Prince Edward Island in Atlantic Canada. “But ultimately, through the many truly constructive conversations I will have with President Trump, we will continue to move forward on the path that is right for all Canadians.”
Trudeau says Trump was elected because he promised to lower the cost of groceries, but now he’s talking about adding 25 per cent to the cost of all kinds of products, including potatoes from Prince Edward Island. said.
“It’s important to understand that when Donald Trump says things like that, he means to follow through. There’s no question about that,” Trudeau said.
“Our responsibility is that he will not only harm Canadians who are very cooperative with the United States, but he will actually raise prices for the American people and harm American industry and business. “It’s a matter of pointing out that there is a problem,” he added.
These tariffs could essentially destroy the North American trade agreement that Mr. Trump’s team negotiated during his early years in office. Prime Minister Trudeau noted that both countries were able to successfully renegotiate the agreement, calling it a “win-win” for both countries.
“We can work together as we always have,” Trudeau said.
President Trump threatened tariffs on Monday while slamming the influx of illegal immigrants, even though the numbers at the Canadian border pale in comparison to the southern border.
U.S. Border Patrol apprehended 56,530 people at the Mexican border in October alone, and 23,721 at the Canadian border between October 2023 and September 2024.
Trump also railed against fentanyl coming from Mexico and Canada, even though there are fewer seizures at the Canadian border than at the Mexican border. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last year, compared to 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border.
Canadian officials say it’s unfair to lump Canada in with Mexico, but they say they’re prepared to make new investments in border security.
Trudeau made the call after Trump posted on social media near the border.
When President Trump imposed high tariffs during his first term in office, other countries responded with their own retaliatory tariffs. For example, Canada announced in 2018 that it would impose billions of dollars in new tariffs on the United States in retaliation for new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Canada is already considering the possibility of retaliatory tariffs from the United States on certain items if President Trump follows through on his threat to impose significant tariffs on Canadian goods, a senior official told The Associated Press this week.
Government officials said Canada is preparing for any eventuality and is beginning to consider which items would be subject to retaliatory tariffs. The official stressed that no decision has been made yet. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Approximately C$3.6 billion (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross borders every day.
Approximately 60% of US crude oil imports come from Canada, and 85% of US electricity imports come from Canada.
Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum, and uranium to the United States, and possesses 34 critical minerals and metals that the Department of Defense invests diligently in the interests of national security.
Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, with 77 per cent of Canadian exports going to the United States.
“Canada has reason to be concerned because President Trump is impulsive and often influenced by what he last saw on Fox News,” said Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. “He’s able to take advantage of that by responding to how it sounds and looks good to the public, rather than what will or will happen.”
Gillies reported from Toronto.
