Canada’s Trudeau returns home after Trump meeting without assurances that tariff talks are off

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned home Saturday after his meeting with Donald Trump without any assurances that the president-elect will back down from threatened tariffs on all products from the key U.S. trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but hinted at not backing down from a pledge that Canada says it unfairly negotiated a deal with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants to the United States.

After a hastily arranged dinner by the leaders Friday night at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trudeau spoke of “an excellent conversation” but gave no details. Trump said in a Truth Social post later Saturday that they discussed “a number of important topics that both countries will need to work together to address.”

As for issues requiring such cooperation, Trump cited fentanyl and “the drug crisis that has taken many lives as a result of illegal immigration,” fair trade deals “that do not put American workers at risk” and working with his allies to protect American workers. Cited trade losses. Answer.

Trump stressed that the prime minister has “committed to working with us to end this terrible scourge” of fentanyl reaching the United States from China through its neighbors to American families. “America will no longer stand idly by as our citizens become victims of this drug epidemic,” he said.

The Republican president-elect has threatened to impose a 25% tax on all products entering the US from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders upon taking office in January.

U.S. Customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests at the Mexican border in October alone and 23,721 arrests at the Canadian border between October 2023 and September 2024 — and Canadian officials say they are ready to make new investments in border security .

Trudeau called Trump after the Republican’s social media posts about the tariffs last Monday and they agreed to meet, according to an official familiar with the matter who declined to publicly discuss the details of the private talks. Was not authorized. The official said other countries are calling Canadian officials to learn how the meeting was arranged and to seek advice.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday after speaking by telephone with Trump that she was confident a tariff war with Washington would be averted.

At the dinner, which was scheduled to last three hours, Trump said he and Trudeau also discussed energy, trade and the Arctic. A second official cited defense, Ukraine, NATO, China, the Middle East, pipelines and a Group of Seven meeting in Canada next year as other issues.

Trump once called Trudeau “weak” and “dishonest” during his first term as president, but it was the prime minister who was the first G7 leader to meet with Trump after the November 5 election.

Daniel Belland, a professor of political science at McGill University in Montreal, said, “Tariffs are an important issue for Canada and it was a bold move. Maybe it was a risk, but a risk worth taking.”

Trudeau said before leaving on Friday that Trump was elected because he promised to lower the price of groceries, but now Atlantic Canada’s Prince Edward Island is raising the price of all types of products, including potatoes, by 25%. Talking about connecting.

“It is important to understand that when Donald Trump makes statements like this, he plans to enforce them. There’s no question about it,” Trudeau said.

“We have a responsibility to show that not only will he hurt Canadians, who do a great job with the United States, but he will actually raise prices for American citizens and hurt American industry and business,” she said. ”

Threatened tariffs could essentially destroy the North American trade agreement that Trump’s team negotiated during his first term. Trudeau said they were able to successfully renegotiate the agreement, which he called a “win-win” for both countries.

When Trump imposed higher tariffs as president, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. For example, Canada announced billions in new tariffs against the US in 2018 in response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminium.

Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Approximately $3.6 billion worth of Canadian goods and services cross the border every day.

About 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 US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is keen on and investing in for national security.

Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, and 77% of Canada’s exports go to the US.

Gillies reported from Toronto.

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