Canada PM Trudeau meets Trump as US president-elect threatens to impose tariffs

Donald Trump talks with Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Plenary Session at the Nato summit in Watford, Britain, December 4, 2019. (Reuters)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Florida on Friday for a dinner meeting with US president-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The meeting followed Trump’s announcement of planned tariffs of up to 25 per cent on imports from Canada.
The visit was unannounced and came after a week of efforts by Canada and Mexico to address Trump’s trade threats. Experts have warned that the tariffs could also affect US consumers.
Trudeau is the first G7 leader to meet Trump since November 5 election.
The dinner included Trudeau, Trump, and some members of Trump’s proposed administration. The meeting was prompted by Trump’s threat, made in a Monday post on his social media platform Truth Social, to impose tariffs on key US trading partners on his first day in office, January 20.
In his post, Trump wrote, “As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before. This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”
The tariffs, which would be paid by importers, are likely to lead to higher prices for consumers in US. This has caused concern among officials in Canada and Mexico as well as in the US. Trump also mentioned a 10 per cent tariff on imports from China.
Biden warned same day that Trump’s tariff threats could “screw up” Washington’s relationships with Ottawa and Mexico City.
“I think it’s a counterproductive thing to do,” Biden told reporters.
Canada is the largest trading partner of the United States, exporting $423 billion billion worth of goods and services, or 78 per cent of its total exports, to the US in 2023.
Earlier on Friday, Trudeau said Trump’s threats should be taken seriously. “Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out. There’s no question about that,” Trudeau told reporters.
He added, “Our responsibility is to point out that in this way he would be actually not just harming Canadians who work so well with the United States. He’d actually be raising prices for American citizens as well, and hurting American industry and businesses.”