A person familiar with the details of the hastily arranged summit on Friday night said it was a “positive, wide-ranging dinner that lasted three hours.” The official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said topics include trade, border security, fentanyl, defense, Ukraine, NATO, China, the Middle East and pipelines. he said. The Group of Seven (G7) meeting will be held in Canada next year.
The Republican president-elect has threatened to impose tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico unless the two countries stop the flow of drugs and immigrants across the border. He said one of his first executive orders when he took office in January would be to impose a 25% tax on all products imported into the United States from Canada and Mexico.
“It was a great conversation,” Trudeau said on his way out of his West Palm Beach hotel, pausing to answer reporters’ questions about the dinner. President Trump’s transition team did not respond to questions about what the leaders discussed.
Although Trump once called Trudeau “weak” and “dishonest” during his first term in office, Trudeau was the first G7 leader to visit him after the Nov. 5 election.
“Tariffs were a very important issue for Canada and required bold action. It was probably a risk, but it was worth the risk,” said Daniel Belland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal. . Among the dinner attendees was Howard Lutnick, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Commerce. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum will lead the Department of the Interior. Mike Walz was President Trump’s choice for national security adviser. Accompanying Prime Minister Trudeau were Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, who is in charge of border security, and Trudeau’s chief of staff, Katie Telford.
Prime Minister Trudeau said earlier Friday that he would talk to President Trump to resolve the tariff issue.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said a day earlier that she was confident a tariff war with the United States would be avoided after meeting with President Trump.
Trudeau was elected because Trump promised to lower the cost of groceries, but now he’s adding 25% to the price of all kinds of products, including potatoes from Prince Edward Island in Atlantic Canada. He said he was discussing it.
“It’s important for Donald Trump to understand that when he says things like that, he means to follow through. There’s no question about that,” Trudeau said before leaving for Florida. Ta.
“Our responsibility is that he will not only harm Canadians who are very cooperative with the United States, but he will actually also 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.
“He doesn’t need to convince Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, that new tariffs on Canadian goods are not in America’s interests. He knows that, and he’s said it publicly. I can’t say anything because it would spoil the situation.” His goal is to project an image that when he speaks, he takes action. ”
These tariffs could essentially destroy the North American trade deal that Trump’s team negotiated during his first term. Prime Minister Trudeau noted that both countries were able to successfully renegotiate the agreement, calling it a “win-win” for both countries.
President Trump threatened tariffs on Monday, citing an influx of immigrants entering the country illegally, although the numbers at the Canadian border pale in comparison to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump also mentioned fentanyl coming from Mexico and Canada, although the number of seizures at the Canadian border is lower than 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.
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 response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
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.
