'It was a good call': Trudeau on conversation with Trump regarding trade, border concerns

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday that he had a “good” conversation with Donald Trump following the president-elect’s surprising announcement of new tariffs aimed at Canada.

“We talked about how the intense and effective connections between our two countries flow back and forth,” AFP quoted Trudeau as telling reporters in Ottawa.

“We talked about some of the challenges that we can work on together,” he said, adding, “It was a good call.”

The call followed Trump’s warning that he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, alongside new levies on products imported from China.

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The United States, Mexico, and Canada are bound by the USMCA, a free trade agreement renegotiated under Trump after he criticized US businesses, particularly automakers, for losing out.

On Tuesday morning, a senior government source told AFP that Trump and Trudeau had a “productive and constructive conversation focused on trade and border security” and pledged “to stay in touch.”

Trudeau is scheduled on Wednesday to hold a meeting with Canada’s provincial premiers, many of whom expressed alarm at the possible trade impacts, to discuss the Trump salvo.

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In a country that relies on trade with the United States, with some 75 per cent of its exports US-bound, the news created shockwaves.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault said the announcement represented “an enormous risk” to the Canadian economy.

His counterpart in British Columbia, David Eby, said “Ottawa must respond firmly.”

With inputs from agencies