Canada After tariff announcement: Trudeau meets Trump in Florida

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has visited US President-elect Donald Trump in the US state of Florida following his announcement of high import tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. Trudeau and Trump met for dinner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on Friday evening (local time), Canadian and US media reported, citing government sources.

Nothing was initially known about the content of the conversation. Trudeau returned to his hotel in West Palm Beach after around three hours and did not respond to questions from journalists. Trump's team also did not initially respond to corresponding inquiries.

High-ranking guests

Also reportedly present at the meeting were Canada's Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc, Doug Burgum and Howard Lutnick, whom Trump is considering as the new Interior and Trade Ministers respectively, and Mike Waltz, the designated National Security Advisor. Republican Dave McCormick shared a photo of the panel on the X platform.

Trump announced at the beginning of the week that he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on all goods from Mexico and Canada on his first day in office on January 20. The US President-elect justified the decision with immigrants who bring crime and drugs across these two borders into the USA. Until this stops, the tariffs should remain in force. At a press conference before his trip to Florida, Trudeau warned, according to media reports, that Trump's move would not only harm Canadians, who work closely with the US, but also the US economy.

SDA