Donald Trump on Wednesday said that a call with Justin Trudeau regarding fentanyl smuggling and trade ended in a “somewhat friendly manner” as he claimed that the Canadian Prime Minister was using tariff disputes with the United States to stay in power.
This was the first conversation between the two leaders after Canada took countermeasures to US tariffs. US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and Vice President JD Vance were also on the call, news agency Reuters reported.
Hours after Trump imposed 10% tariffs on Canadian energy imports and 25% on everything else, Ottawa imposed immediate 25% tariffs on C$30 billion worth of US imports, including cosmetics, appliances, tyres, fruit and wine, and vowed to target another C$125 billion worth in 21 days’ time if necessary.
Trump on fentanyl
Trump said that Trudeau called him on Wednesday to ask “what could be done about tariffs”, and he informed the Canadian leader that his efforts to stop fentanyl smuggling were “not convincing.”
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said, “I told him that many people have died from Fentanyl that came through the Borders of Canada and Mexico, and nothing has convinced me that it has stopped. He said that it’s gotten better, but I said, “That’s not good enough.” The call ended in a “somewhat” friendly manner!”
The US president also claimed that Trudeau was unable to answer his question about the Canadian election. The Canadian prime minister announced his resignation in January, and the Liberal Party will choose his successor after a leadership contest this weekend.
“He was unable to tell me when the Canadian Election is taking place, which made me curious, like, what’s going on here? I then realized he is trying to use this issue to stay in power. Good luck Justin!” Trump added.
Trudeau’s stance on US tariffs
Prime minister Trudeau is unwilling to lift Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on US imports if Trump is unwilling to revoke his tariffs completely, The Associated Press reported.
“We’re not interested in meeting in the middle and having some reduced tariff. Canada wants the tariffs removed,” Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
