US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a telephonic conversation in which they discussed the ongoing trade issues between both countries. Following his conversation with Trudeau, Trump accused him of trying to "use the issue to stay in power."
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, "He (Trudeau) was unable to tell me when the Canadian election is taking place, which made me curious, like, what's going on here? I then realised he is trying to use this issue to stay in power." Trump said that he highlighted the fentanyl-related deaths with Trudeau, which "came through the borders of Canada and Mexico.".
While the US President acknowledged that the talks between him and Trudeau ended in a "somewhat" friendly manner, he said that he was not convinced that the smuggling of fentanyl has stopped. Trump said he told the Canadian PM that it is because of Trudeau's "weak border policies" that tremendous amounts of fentanyl and "illegal aliens" have made their way into the United States.
Moreover, the news agency AP reports that Trudeau is unwilling to lift Canada's retaliatory tariffs on the United States if President Donald Trump leaves any US tariffs on Canada.
Trump launched a new trade war Tuesday by imposing tariffs against Washington's three biggest trading partners, drawing immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada, and China, and sending financial markets into a tailspin. The US President put 25% taxes, or tariffs, on Mexican and Canadian imports, though he limited the levy to 10% on Canadian energy.