Trudeau is the first foreign leader of the Group of Seven (G7) – a forum that brings together the most developed nations in the world – to visit Trump since the elections he won on November 5 and will return him to the White House for another four years starting on January 20, 2025.
According to local media reports, the Canadian leader would try to persuade Trump to back down from his tariff intimidation.
The 45th President (2017-2021) and soon-to-be 47th President has said he would impose widespread tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico on the day he takes office.
Trudeau and Trump shared a dinner together last night, according to an unnamed official, who said a delegation of senior allies of the president-elect who are poised to fill top trade and security posts in his next administration also attended.
The long-awaited meeting came after Trump threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada until both countries stopped what he claims is a flow of drugs and undocumented migrants into the United States.
Trudeau told reporters earlier this week that he concluded he and Trump spoke on the phone after the Republican’s remarks and that they had a “good conversation.” He added that “a lot of interesting conversations” could follow with the incoming occupant of the Oval Office.
The prime minister cited the complex and lengthy negotiations of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or UMSCA, as a sign that he could work with Trump on trade and avoid a feared trade war.
The pact, which went into effect in 2020, was designed to provide mostly duty-free trade between the three countries.
The tariffs, which Trump also intends to impose on China a 10 percent penalty on products imported from the Asian giant, would significantly increase the prices of goods after having based his electoral campaign on the promise of reducing inflation.
The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, who also spoke by phone with Trump, warned that it is not with threats or tariffs that the migration phenomenon or drug use in the United States will be addressed.
“Cooperation and mutual understanding are required for these great challenges. One tariff will be met by another in response (…) I believe that dialogue is the best path to understanding, peace and prosperity in our nations,” the Mexican president stressed.
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