Trump Extolls Tariffs Strategy, Saying Trudeau Visited to Discuss Border

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is extolling his tariff threat against Canada and Mexico, noting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited him in Florida to discuss Trump’s border concerns soon after.

In an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” aired on Dec. 8, Trump said Trudeau “flew to Mar-a-Lago within about 15 seconds after the call ended.”

Trump was referring to a call Trudeau made to him on Nov. 25, shortly after the incoming U.S. president threatened to impose a 25 tariff on Canada and Mexico if they don’t address illegal migration and drug smuggling at their borders.

Trudeau visited Trump at his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 29.

In recent days, Ottawa has been ramping up to increase border security with the emergency purchase of new surveillance equipment and the deployment of additional human resources. A formal plan has yet to be fleshed out, but an announcement should come before Trump takes office on Jan. 20, according to Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

Trump has threatened to impose the tariffs on his first day in office. During his “Meet the Press” interview, Trump repeated his appreciation of tariffs by calling them the “most beautiful word,” while criticizing the trade relationships the U.S. has with other countries.

Trump also discussed tariffs as a tactic to make other strategic gains, saying they’re a “very powerful tool, not only economically but also for getting other things outside of economics.”

“I have stopped wars with tariffs by saying, ‘you guys want to fight, it’s great, but both of you are going to pay tariffs to the United States at 100 percent,’” he said without elaborating.

“I don’t say you use [tariffs] like a madman,” he added, saying “properly-used” tariffs have “many purposes.”

On the trade relationship with its North American partners, Trump said the U.S. has been “subsidizing Canada to the tune of over $100 billion a year” and Mexico for “almost $300 billion.”

Trump didn’t specify the scope of the figures he referred to, but could be indicating the negative trade balances the U.S. has with its two partners. In 2023, the U.S. had a US$67.9 billion deficit in the trade of goods with Canada and US$152.4 billion with Mexico, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

“We shouldn’t be subsidizing. Why are we subsidizing these countries? If we’re going to subsidize them, let them become a state [of the U.S.],” Trump added, saying all he wants is a “fair playing field.”

Trump’s suggestion that Canada become a U.S. state was also made directly to Trudeau as a joke when he visited Mar-a-Lago.

Fox News previously reported that when Trudeau said the imposition of 25 tariffs would kill the Canadian economy, Trump responded that if Canada can’t survive despite its $100 billion trade surplus, maybe it should become the 51st U.S. state and Trudeau could be the governor.

Minister LeBlanc, who attended the meeting, said afterwards Trump had made the comment as a joke, saying the conversation around dinner was “light-hearted” and Trump was “teasing us.”

“It was, of course, on that issue, in no way a serious comment,” he said.