Justin Trudeau has failed to secure assurances from Donald Trump that the incoming president will not place a 25% tariff on all goods crossing the North American border. It comes after Trump called the talks “productive” but signalled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States.
After the leaders’ hastily arranged dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Friday, Trudeau spoke of “an excellent conversation” and said in a post on X, accompanied by a photo of the two men seated at a table and smiling, that he looked forward to “the work we can do together, again.” Trump said earlier on Truth Social that they discussed “many important topics that will require both Countries to work together to address.”
For issues in need of such cooperation, Trump cited fentanyl and the “Drug Crisis that has decimated so many lives as a result of Illegal Immigration,” fair trade deals “that do not jeopardize American Workers”, and the US trade deficit with its ally to the north.
Trump asserted that the prime minister had made “a commitment to work with us to end this terrible devastation” of American families from fentanyl from China reaching the United States through its neighbours. The US, he said, “will no longer sit idly by as our Citizens become victims to the scourge of this Drug Epidemic.”
It comes after Wood Central revealed that Trump had threatened to impose a 25% tax on all products entering the US from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders when he took office in January—a decision that would have significant implications for more than US $3 billion in softwood lumber trade every year.
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 was not authorized to publicly discuss the details of the private talks. The official said other countries are calling Canadian officials to hear how the meeting was arranged and to ask for advice.
At the same time, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum—Mexico is now the United States’ top consumer market for limber—was confident a tariff war with Washington would be averted.
Trudeau’s office said in a statement that the leaders “shared a productive wide-ranging discussion” centring on “collaboration and strengthening our relationship,” adding, “As Canada’s closest friend and ally, the United States is our key partner, and we are committed to working together in the interests of Canadians and Americans.” During his first term as president, Trump once called Trudeau “weak” and “dishonest,” but the prime minister was the first G7 leader to visit Trump since the Nov. 5 election.
Last month, Jason Morris, the University of Northern British Columbia’s UNBC Senior Political Science Instructor, warned that Canada should
“expect a rocky road ahead”—that is according to Jason Morris, the University of Northern British Columbia’s UNBC Senior Political Science Instructor, who, just hours after President Trump was (re) elected as the 47th president of the United States, warned that his pro-tariffs economic policy could spell disaster for the British Columbia’s timber industry.
Trudeau said before leaving to meet Trump that he was elected because he promised to bring down the cost of groceries, but now he was talking about adding 25% to all kinds of products. “It is important to understand that when he makes statements like that, Donald Trump plans on carrying them out. There’s no question about it,” Trudeau said.
“Our responsibility is to point out that he would not just be harming Canadians, who work so well with the United States, but he would actually be raising prices for American citizens as well and hurting American industry and business,” he added. The threatened tariffs could destroy the North American trade pact that Trump’s team negotiated during his first term. Trudeau noted that they were able to successfully renegotiate the deal, which he calls a “win-win” for both countries.
When Trump imposed higher tariffs as president, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for instance, announced billions of new duties in 2018 against the US in response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminium. Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US $2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border daily.
