Date published: 30/11/2024 – 21:22Changed: 30/11/2024 – 21:20

2 minutes

Trudeau, who was making an unannounced visit, was seen smiling as he left a hotel in West Palm Beach on Friday to head to dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

Trump later posted on the Truth Social website that he had a “very productive meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.”

He said the two men discussed topics such as “the Fentanyl and Drug Crisis that is destroying the lives of so many as a result of Illegal Immigration.”

“Prime Minister Trudeau has committed to working with us to end this horrific devastation of American families.” he added.

Trudeau told reporters he had an “excellent conversation” with Trump but did not elaborate.

Trump accused Canada and Mexico of failing to stem the influx of undocumented immigrants and blamed them and China for drug problems in the United States.

Trudeau’s trip comes after Trump sent shockwaves through the region on Monday when he announced he would impose 25 per cent import tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10 per cent on China if they fail to resolve drug and immigration issues.

Such tariffs could have a devastating impact if implemented.

More than three-quarters of Canadian exports, C$592.7 billion ($423 billion), went to the United States last year, and nearly two million jobs in Canada depend on trade.

A Canadian government source told AFP that Canada was considering possible retaliatory tariffs against the US.

Trudeau became the first foreign leader to meet with the next president of the United States.

But on Wednesday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke to Trump by phone and later ruled out a trade war with the United States.

“There will be no potential tariff war,” he told reporters on Thursday.

Trump later said Sheinbaum “agreed to stop immigration through Mexico…effectively closing our southern border.”

However, he stated that closing the border would be out of the question and said, “Of course, we do not agree with this.”

Some have suggested that Trump’s tariff threat was a bluster or the opening salvo of future trade negotiations. But Trudeau rejected those views when he spoke to reporters earlier in the province of Prince Edward Island.

“When Donald Trump makes such statements, he plans to implement them,” Trudeau said. “There’s no doubt about it.”

© 2024 AFP