TORONTO, ONT – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed Donald Trump that People would additionally endure if the president-elect follows via on a plan to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian merchandise, a Canadian minister who attended their current dinner stated Monday.
Trump threatened to impose tariffs on merchandise from Canada and Mexico in the event that they don’t cease what he referred to as the circulation of medication and migrants throughout their borders with the USA. He stated on social media final week that he would impose a 25% tax on all merchandise coming into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one in every of his first govt orders.
Canadian Public Security Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose duties embody border safety, attended a dinner with Trump and Trudeau at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago membership on Friday.
Trudeau requested the assembly in a bid to keep away from the tariffs by convincing Trump that the northern border is nothing just like the U.S. southern border with Mexico.
“The prime minister in fact spoke concerning the significance of defending the Canadian financial system and Canadian staff from tariffs, however we additionally mentioned with our American buddies the damaging impression that these tariffs may have on their financial system, on affordability in the USA as nicely,” LeBlanc stated in Parliament.
If Trump makes good on his risk to slap 25% tariffs on every thing imported from Mexico and Canada, the value will increase that would comply with will collide along with his marketing campaign promise to provide American households a break from inflation.
Economists say firms would have little alternative however to cross alongside the added prices, dramatically elevating costs for meals, clothes, vehicles, alcohol and different items.
The Produce Distributors Affiliation, a Washington commerce group, stated final week that tariffs will increase costs for recent fruit and greens and damage U.S. farmers when the international locations retaliate.
Canada is already inspecting potential retaliatory tariffs on sure objects from the U.S. ought to Trump comply with via on the risk.
After his dinner with Trump, Trudeau returned dwelling with out assurances the president-elect will again away from threatened tariffs on all merchandise from the foremost American buying and selling companion. Trump referred to as the talks “productive” however signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the circulation of medication and migrants into the USA.
“The idea that we came back empty handed is completely false,” LeBlanc stated. “We had a very productive discussion with Mr. Trump and his future Cabinet secretaries. … The commitment from Mr. Trump to continue to work with us was far from empty handed.”
Becoming a member of Trump and Trudeau at dinner had been Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s decide to steer the Inside Division, and Mike Waltz, Trump’s option to be his nationwide safety adviser.
Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, informed The Related Press on Sunday that “the message that our border is so vastly different than the Mexican border was really understood.” Hillman, who sat at an adjoining desk to Trudeau and Trump, stated Canada will not be the issue relating to medicine and migrants.
On Monday, Mexico’s president rejected these feedback.
“Mexico must be respected, especially by its trading partners,” President Claudia Sheinbaum stated. She stated Canada had its personal issues with fentanyl consumption and “could only wish they had the cultural riches Mexico has.”
Flows of migrants and seizures of medication on the two international locations’ border are vastly totally different. U.S. customs brokers seized 43 kilos of fentanyl on the Canadian border over the last fiscal yr, in contrast with 21,100 kilos on the Mexican border.
Many of the fentanyl reaching the U.S. — the place it causes about 70,000 overdose deaths yearly — is made by Mexican drug cartels utilizing precursor chemical substances smuggled from Asia.
On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol reported 1.53 million encounters with migrants on the southwest border with Mexico between October 2023 and September 2024. That compares to 23,721 encounters on the Canadian border throughout that point.
Canada is the highest export vacation spot for 36 U.S. states. Practically $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) value of products and providers cross the border every day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electrical energy imports as nicely.
Canada can be the biggest international provider of metal, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 crucial minerals and metals that the Pentagon is keen for and investing for nationwide safety.
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