President-elect Donald Trump might not be in office yet, but his Mar-a-Lago estate is already attracting foreign heads of state. For example, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
According to the BBC, Trudeau was there to discuss a potential 25% tariff on Canadian goods coming into the U.S. It said that he landed at Palm Beach International Airport Friday evening and that he was expected to have dinner with Trump that evening.
Others reportedly in attendance were Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister in charge of border security, Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary; Doug Burgum, the nominee to lead the Department of the Interior; and Mike Waltz, Trump’s pick to be the next national security adviser.
While on the campaign trail, Trump often highlighted tariffs as a key component of his economic policy, and he also instituted new tariffs on foreign goods from China, Mexico, Canada, the European Union and other trading partners the last time he was in the White House.
This week, Trump said in a Truth Social post that: “On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders.”
After the announcement, Trump and Trudeau reportedly spoke over the phone and Trudeau held an emergency meeting with the leaders of Canada’s provinces and territories. With his trip to Mar-a-Lago, Trudeau became the first G7 leader to visit Trump since he won the 2024 election, the BBC said.
Per the outlet, the Canadian prime minister is seeking to avoid the heavy tariffs. These could have wide-ranging economic impacts, since 75% of Canada’s total exports are sent to the U.S. and the nations’ supply chains are very integrated. Trudeau has previously touted how he was able to renegotiate a major trade pact the last time Trump was in office. Still the BBC noted that Trudeau and Trump have had a sometimes “rocky” relationship.
“It remains unclear whether the incoming Trump administration will actually move ahead with the threatened tariffs, as analysts note that the president-elect has been known to use such threats in the past as a negotiating tactic to achieve his goals,” the BBC said.
However, Trudeau said Friday that he believes Trump does genuinely plan on instituting the tariffs. BBC’s report said his goal in meeting with the president-elect was to stress how this move could raise prices for Americans.
Indeed, while Trump and his team believe the tariffs will benefit the American economy, others aren’t so sure. The last time Trump put high tariffs in place, “American firms and consumers paid the vast majority of the cost of Trump’s tariffs,” said the Brookings Institution.
“If you want a poster child for why tariffs don’t work, you just have to look at our industry,” said Nate Herman, of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), according to The Guardian. He explained that most of the materials needed to make apparel and the factories that produce it are not located in the U.S., making it hard to replace foreign goods with domestic goods at a reasonable price.
Another skeptic is billionaire Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, according to CNBC.
“I am gravely concerned that the rise of tariffs puts us on a slippery slope towards crony capitalism,” the He said earlier this month at the Economic Club of New York.
As for Trump, he said in his Truth Social post this week that: “This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country! Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!”
According to the BBC, neither Trudeau’s office neither the Trump team responded to requests for comments on his visit. Additionally, it was not included on the prime minister’s official itinerary.
“I just had a very productive meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, where we discussed many important topics that will require both Countries to work together to address, like the Fentanyl and Drug Crisis that has decimated so many lives as a result of Illegal Immigration, Fair Trade Deals that do not jeopardize American Workers, and the massive Trade Deficit the U.S. has with Canada,” said Trump of the meeting in a Saturday Truth Social post. “I made it very clear that the United States will no longer sit idly by as our Citizens become victims to the scourge of this Drug Epidemic, caused mainly by the Drug Cartels, and Fentanyl pouring in from China. Too much death and hardship! Prime Minister Trudeau has made a commitment to work with us to end this terrible devastation of U.S. Families. We also spoke about many other important topics like Energy, Trade, and the Arctic. All are vital issues that I will be addressing on my first days back in Office, and before.”