Trump: Productive meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister, we discussed the border and trade

2024-11-30 22:30:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Trump: Productive meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister, we discussed the

US President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday he had a "very productive" meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in which they discussed border issues and other topics including trade, energy and the Arctic.

"We discussed many important topics that will require both countries to work together to address, such as the fentanyl and drug crisis that has destroyed so many lives as a result of illegal immigration, trade agreements right that will not endanger American workers, as well as the massive trade deficit that the United States has with Canada" , said President-elect Trump in a post on the Truth Social network.

"(Prime Minister) Trudeau committed to working with us to end this horrific destruction of American families," he added.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Florida on Friday for a dinner with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club after Mr Trump threatened to impose massive tariffs on Canadian products.

President-elect Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico unless the two countries stop what he called the flow of drugs and immigrants through their borders. He said he would impose a 25% tariff on all products entering the United States from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders.

A person familiar with the details called it an "extended positive dinner that lasted three hours." The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said topics included trade, border security, fentanyl, defense, Ukraine, NATO, China and oil spills, as well as the meeting of G7 in Canada next year.

Although during his first term, President Trump called Prime Minister Trudeau "weak" and "dishonest", ties between the two countries have remained among the closest in the world. Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau thus becomes the first leader from the G7 countries to visit President-elect Donald Trump, after his victory in the November 5 election.

Joining President-elect Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau at the dinner were Howard Lutnick, President-elect Trump's nominee for secretary of commerce; North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, selected to lead the Interior Department; Mike Waltz, selected for the job of national security adviser; as well as their wives.

Also at the dinner were David McCormick, the newly elected senator from Pennsylvania, and his wife, Dina Powell, a former deputy national security adviser in the first Trump administration, as well as Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose portfolio includes and border security, as well as Katie Telford, Prime Minister Trudeau's chief of staff.

Mr. McCormick posted a photo on the X Network of the group sitting at a round table on the Mar-a-Lagos patio.

President-elect Trump's transition team did not respond to questions about the issues that were discussed, or whether the conversation eased the president-elect's concerns about the border./ VOA