The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau met this Friday with the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, at a dinner at the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
The meeting took place days after Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff to all products from Canada and Mexico, linking the measure to the supposed flow of drugs and migrants across the northern and southern borders of the United States.
The dinner, which lasted three hours, included extensive discussion on topics such as trade, border security, fentanyl crisis, defence, Ukraine, China, plans for the upcoming G7 summit in Canada and pipeline construction.
According to a source close to the conversations who spoke anonymously with the agency The Associated Pressthe meeting was described as “positive and wide-ranging”.
In addition to Trump and Trudeau, key figures from both administrations were present. Among them were Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlancwhose responsibility includes border security, and Trudeau’s chief of staff, Katie Telford.
On the American side, the senator from Pennsylvania participated, David McCormickhis wife and former national security advisor Dina Powelland several figures appointed by Trump to his cabinet, such as Howard Lutnick (Secretary of Commerce) and Doug Burgum (Interior).
Before the meeting, Trudeau declared that his priority would be to resolve trade tensions through dialogue. “We are going to work together to address some of the concerns, but it will be through many real and constructive conversations with President Trump that we will move forward on the right path for all Canadians,” Trudeau told reporters in Prince Edward IslandCanada.
Trump justified his threat of tariffs as a measure to stop what he called an uncontrolled flow of migrants and drugs across the borders. However, the data from the US Border Patrol reveal that the numbers on the Canadian border are significantly lower than those on the southern border.
In October 2023, there were 56,530 arrests on the border with Mexico, while on the border with Canada, 23,721 arrests in a period of 12 months.
Additionally, Trump mentioned trafficking fentanylbut the numbers show a huge disparity: during the last fiscal year, US customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the border with Canada, compared to the 21,100 pounds confiscated on the border with Mexico.
Trump’s tariff threats could jeopardize the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC)renegotiated during his first term.
Trudeau recalled that this agreement was a mutual achievement that benefited both economies. “We can work together as we did before”he assured.
Canada is the United States’ main trading partner, being the most important export destination for 36 US states. Every day, goods and services worth $2.7 billion US dollars They cross the border between both countries.
Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of crude oilelectricity, steel and aluminum for the United States, as well as strategic minerals that the Pentagon considers crucial to national security.
Given the risk of new rates, Canada is already evaluating retaliation options. According to a Canadian official who spoke to the agency The Associated Pressthe government is considering possible tariffs against American products, although no concrete decisions have been made.
This approach reflects the strategy adopted in 2018, when Canada imposed billions of dollars in tariffs in response to Trump’s measures against Canadian steel and aluminum.
Despite the challenges, the trade relationship between Canada and the United States remains one of the closest in the world. Canada sends 77% of its exports to the United States, highlighting its economic dependence on the US market. However, Trump’s threats underscore the risk to this relationship in the context of political and trade tensions.
(With information from Associated Press)
