Justin Trudeau had dinner with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday evening, after the president-elect threatened steep tariffs on Canada, CNN reported.
The Canadian prime minister’s visit, the first by a G7 leader since Trump’s victory, came after Trudeau described how he intends to work with Trump when he’s president once again.
“Ultimately, it is through lots of constructive, real conversations with President Trump that I’m going to have that will keep us moving forward on the right track for all Canadians,” Trudeau said at a press conference in Prince Edward Island.
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Trudeau was prime minister throughout Trump’s first term, which saw the replacement of NAFTA with the USMCA. Trump now says wants to do away with that free trade agreement by putting a 25 percent tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports.
“When he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out,” Trudeau warned.
“He would be actually not just harming Canadians who work so well with the United States. He would actually be raising prices for American citizens as well, and hurting American industry and businesses,” he added, echoing Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Trudeau is expected to stay overnight in Florida, though not at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private residence and golf club, one official with knowledge of the visit told The New York Times.
