Canada's Trudeau says he had an "excellent conversation" with Trump in Florida after tariffs threat
Justin Trudeau said Saturday he had an «excellent conversation» with Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club after the president-elect's threat to impose significant tariffs on two of America's leading trade partners raised alarms in Ottawa and Mexico City. It was unclear, as Trudeau headed back to Canada from Florida, whether the conversation had alleviated Trump's concerns.
A person familiar with the details of the leaders' hastily arranged meeting Friday night said it was a «positive wide-ranging dinner that lasted three hours.» The official, who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said topics included trade, border security, fentanyl, defence, Ukraine, NATO, China, the Mideast and pipelines, as well as the the Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Canada next year.
The Republican president-elect has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries don't stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders. He said he would impose a 25 per cent tax on all products entering the US from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders when he takes office in January.
As he was leaving his West Palm Beach hotel, Trudeau stopped briefly to answer a reporter's question about the dinner meeting, saying it was «an excellent conversation.» Trump's transition team did not respond to questions about what the leaders had discussed.
Trump, during his first term as president, once called Trudeau «weak»
