Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited US President-elect Donald Trump in the US state of Florida after his announcement of high import tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. Trudeau and Trump met for dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property on Friday evening (local time), Canadian and US media reported, citing government circles.
Trump himself reported on Saturday on his online platform Truth Social about a “very productive meeting” in which “many important issues” were discussed that “both countries need to address together.” He cited the fentanyl and drug crisis as an example. Trudeau is committed to working with the US to end the suffering this causes. Other topics discussed were energy, trade and the Arctic.
Trudeau returned to his hotel in West Palm Beach that evening after about three hours and did not respond to questions from reporters. Also present at the meeting were Canada’s public safety ministers Dominic LeBlanc, Doug Burgum and Howard Lutnick, whom Trump is targeting as interior and trade ministers respectively, and Mike Waltz, the designated national security adviser. Republican Dave McCormick shared a photo of the round on Platform X.
Trump announced tariffs against China, Mexico and Canada
Trump announced at the beginning of the week that he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on all goods from Mexico and Canada on his first day in office on January 20th. The US President-elect justified the decision with immigrants bringing crime and drugs into the US across these two borders. Until that stops, the tariffs should remain in effect.
According to media reports, at a press conference before his trip to Florida, Trudeau warned that Trump’s move would not only harm Canadians who work closely with the United States, but also the US economy.
