Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump as Canada braces for 25 per cent trade tariffs.
The two leaders spoke Monday morning about the U.S.-Canada border and plan on continuing their conversation on trade later this afternoon.
While neither Trump nor Trudeau published a readout of their conversation President Trump announced that he had a conversation with Trudeau on social media.
The president says that he brought up new concerns he has with Canada’s trade regulations along with older concerns he has been repeating for months about the border and fentanyl smuggling.
“Canada doesn’t even allow U.S. banks to open or do business there. What’s that all about?” said Trump.
“Many such things, but it’s also a DRUG WAR, and hundreds of thousands of people have died in the U.S. from drugs pouring through the Borders of Mexico and Canada. Just spoke to Justin Trudeau. Will be speaking to him again at 3 p.m.”
In a comment to True North, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that Trudeau had spoken with Trump this morning and will speak with him again in the afternoon. The PMO said that Trudeau had spoken to Trump about “trade and the border.”
Late Sunday night, President Trump responded to Canada’s imposition of retaliatory tariffs on the United States by complaining about Canadian laws restricting foreign financial institutions from operating in Canada.
Canada’s Bank Act allows foreign-owned banks to operate on Canadian soil, but are heavily-limited in banking activities.
Earlier today, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum released a statement saying that she had recently spoken with Trump and had managed to delay the imposition of similar American tariffs on Mexico.
“We had a good conversation with President Trump with great respect for our relationship and sovereignty; we reached a series of agreements,” said Sheinbaum.
Trump agreed to pause tariffs on Mexico for one month in a deal that will see Mexico immediately send 10,000 national guard troops to the U.S.-Mexican border to crack down on drug smuggling, particularly fentanyl.
The United States agreed to crack down on the trafficking of high-powered weapons from the U.S. to Mexico and the two nations agreed to cooperate on security and trade going forward.
