Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned home yesterday after a meeting with Donald Trump without assurances that the next US president-elect would back down from his threat to impose new tariffs on all Canadian goods, it was reported Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
Trump described the conversation as “productive” but gave no signal that he would back down from his intention, which Canada says unfairly lumps it into the same group as Mexico on the issue of drug and migrant entry into the United States.
After Friday night's hastily arranged dinner at Trump's “Mar-a-Lago” in Florida, Trudeau said the two had “excellent conversation” and wrote yesterday on the “X“ platform that he is looking forward to working together.
Among the issues requiring cooperation between the two countries, Trump cited fentanyl and “the drug crisis that has claimed so many lives as a result of illegal immigration”, as well as fair trade agreements that “do not endanger American workers” , and the topic of the US trade deficit with Canada.
Trump has previously threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on all goods entering the United States from Canada and Mexico in one of the first executive orders he will issue when he takes office in January.
U.S. Customs seized about 20 kg of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared to 9,570 kg at the Mexican border. On the migration front, US Border Patrol apprehended 56,530 people at the Mexican border in October alone, compared to 23,721 arrests at the Canadian border from October 2023 to September 2024.
At the meeting, which reportedly lasted three hours, Trump said he and Trudeau also discussed energy, trade and the Arctic. Another official mentioned defense, NATO, China, the Middle East, oil pipelines and the G7 meeting in Canada next year among the topics.
During his first term, Trump once called Trudeau “weak” and “dishonest”, but the Canadian prime minister became the first G7 leader to visit Trump since the November 5 presidential election.
„Tariffs are a key issue for Canada and a bold move was needed. "Maybe it was a risk, but a risk worth taking," commented Daniel Beland, professor of political science at McGill University. in Montreal.
Trump's threatened tariffs would essentially destroy the North American Trade Union that his team negotiated during his first term.
Trudeau said before his meeting with Trump that he intended to point out to his counterpart that the tariffs would not only hurt Canadians (…), but would essentially raise prices for American citizens as well, and hurt American industry and business“.
Canada is the most important export destination for 36 US states. Goods worth 2.7 billion go through the border every day. US dollars. About 60 percent of U.S. crude oil imports and about 85 percent of electricity imports come from Canada.
Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US, while also possessing 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon desires for US national security purposes.
At the same time, Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, with 77 percent of Canadian exports going to the US.