U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly agrees to a 30-day pause on proposed tariffs on Canada after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a series of new commitments to Trump.
Tha Canadians are greatly relieved for the time being as it offers them more time for negotiations.
Trudeau agreed to increase border security including a promise to appoint a new fentanyl “czar.” And he promised to list Mexican cartels, the top purveyors of fentanyl and other drugs in Canada and the U.S., as terrorists under Canadian law.
Despite the agreement, Trump spent the day talking about what else he wants from Canada.
Tasked with combating organized crime and money laundering, Trudeau said Canada is launching a “Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force,” and he’s kicking in $200 million in funding to get it off the ground.
“Proposed tariffs will be paused for at least 30 days while we work together,” Trudeau said in a social media post after he wrapped up a 45-minute call with Trump — his second of the day.
Trump said in his own social media post that he was “very pleased” Canada has a plan in place to secure the northern border. But Trump called this just an “initial outcome…not a final economic deal with Canada.”
Trump said Canada “doesn’t take our agricultural products, for the most part, adding that the U.S. is Canada’s largest agricultural trading partner, representing some 57 per cent of Canadian food imports.
