U.S. President Donald Trump says he had a “somewhat” friendly call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss the tariff situation, which sparked a trade war between the two border countries.
On Wednesday, Trump took to his own social media platform, Truth Social, to say he had a conversation with Canada’s prime minister on what can be done about the levied tariffs, which started earlier this week.
“Justin Trudeau, of Canada, called me to ask what could be done about Tariffs,” Trump wrote. “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.”
Trudeau said “it’s gotten better,” according to Trump, to which he replied, “That’s not good enough.” Trump said the call ended in a “‘somewhat’ friendly manner” while claiming Trudeau was unable to tell him when the Canadian election will be held.
“I then realized he was trying to use this issue to stay in power,” he said. “Good luck Justin!”
In a follow-up post on Truth Social, Trump said he told “Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada” that he “largely caused” the problems Americans have with Canadians because of our country’s “Weak Border Policies,” which Trump claimed allowed “tremendous” amounts of “Fentanyl, and Illegal Aliens” to “pour into the United States.”
“These Policies are responsible for the death of many people!” Trump concluded.
The phone call between Trump and Trudeau wasn’t a total loss. The American president granted the “Big Three” automakers — Stellantis, Ford and General Motors — a one-month exemption from tariffs for any vehicles coming through the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.
The White House said those reciprocal tariffs were originally slated to start on April 2 before the exemption was granted.
— With files from The Canadian Press