Trump, Trudeau trade barbs on tariffs despite recent meeting
President-elect Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau exchanged remarks regarding possible tariffs on Canada. Trump took to Truth Social, trolling Trudeau for warning about a potential tariff war with the U.S.
Trump called Trudeau the “governor” of the “Great State of Canada” in a social media post overnight. This comes after the Canadian prime minister warned a tariff war could result in increased prices for Americans.
This conflict comes just days after Trudeau met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Trump touted putting a 25% levy on imports from Canada and Mexico if the countries don’t stem the flow of migrants and drugs into the U.S.
During their meeting, Trudeau reportedly told Trump the tariffs would devastate Canada. Trump teasingly replied that Canada could avoid the tariffs if it considered becoming the 51st state.
Trump said Canada receives billions of dollars in American subsidies and wants to level the playing field.
Trudeau told Chamber of Commerce members in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that Canada will respond to “unfair tariffs” in several ways.
The prime minister said he believes Americans are realizing tariffs on goods from Canada would make life more expensive.
The first Trump administration imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from Canada in 2018. Canada has tariffs on American products, such as bourbon from Kentucky, motorcycles from Harley-Davidson in Wisconsin and ketchup from Pennsylvania.
That battle ended in 2019 when Trump and Trudeau struck a deal.
Trump’s trip to Notre Dame ceremony gives leaders chance to build closer ties
The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is reopening the weekend of Dec. 7. And while the ceremonies will be an emotional moment for the French public, the events will also be a major opportunity for world leaders to meet.
With President-elect Donald Trump being among the roughly 50 world leaders to attend, it’s a chance for other countries to try to curry favor. It’s his first trip abroad as president-elect. Trump will attend events in Paris this weekend, as will First Lady Jill Biden.
Domestically, Macron is facing trouble after the resignation of prime minister Michel Barnier and collapse of the parliamentary government. However, Macron may be able to strengthen ties between France and President-elect Trump. The two overlapped as leaders during Trump’s first term.
Trump has met or spoken with a number of leaders since winning last month’s election, including U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to the president-elect’s residence at Mar-a-Lago for talks last weekend. Trump has warned he will implement tariffs on many goods from Canada because of concerns about U.S. border security.
The first ceremony occurs Saturday afternoon. The archbishop of Paris will start things off by knocking on the doors to reopen them. The ceremony will include prayers, songs and remarks by President Macron to a crowd including the dozens of world leaders who accepted his invitation.
Canada will deploy helicopters, drones to border after Trump tariff threat
Canada will deploy helicopters, drones and additional personnel to its border with the U.S. to enhance immigration security, a Canadian official announced Monday, Dec. 2. The move comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with President-elect Donald Trump, who threatened to impose high tariffs unless Canada took stronger action to secure the border.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced the decision, saying the government would soon deploy helicopters and drones along the U.S.-Canada border. Trump’s concerns over fentanyl production and illegal immigration influenced the decision.
Trump and Trudeau met over the holiday weekend. The president-elect threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports if Canada does not act to curb the flow of drugs and migrants into the U.S.
LeBlanc told CBC News that Canada is taking swift action, with plans to procure additional drones and police helicopters and to redeploy personnel. He added that Canada has already invested hundreds of millions of dollars in border security, noting that the border is secure. He confirmed the country shares common goals with the U.S. in increasing security.
While the U.S. expressed concerns about the increase in drugs and undocumented immigrants, Canada highlighted its concern over the smuggling of firearms from the U.S. into Canada.
In a separate discussion, LeBlanc said he spoke with Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick for treasury secretary, about the potential economic impact of the proposed tariffs.
Trudeau said the tariffs could “kill the Canadian economy,” as the U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner. American imports account for about 75% of Canada’s exports.
Discussions between the incoming Trump administration and Canada’s government remain ongoing.
Trump jokes Canada could be 51st state at dinner with Trudeau: Report
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told President-elect Donald Trump his proposed tariffs would “kill the Canadian economy” when they met for dinner last week. Trump allegedly responded, “If Canada can’t survive the tariffs, then maybe Canada should become the 51st state and Trudeau can become its governor.”
Sources at the dinner confirmed the exchange with Fox News when the two met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Trudeau became the first G7 leader to meet with Trump since the U.S. presidential election in November.
The leaders discussed several issues, including trade and immigration. Tensions escalated when Trump threatened a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico unless both countries took stronger action to curb migration and drug trafficking into the U.S.
The U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner, with American imports accounting for about 75% of Canada’s exports. The two countries currently trade under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a deal signed by Trump in 2020.
Both leaders described the talks as productive. Trudeau posted a picture from the dinner on X, thanking Trump in the caption. He said, “I look forward to the work we can do together, again.”
Before his dinner with Trudeau, Trump also spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum last week. During that conversation, Trump reiterated his threat of high tariffs unless Mexico took more decisive action at its border with the U.S.
Canada’s prime minister to up border security after meeting with Trump
Canadian officials will be stepping up security at the country’s border with the United States after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with President-elect Trump in Florida for dinner on Friday, Nov. 29. That’s according to Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, a top government official, who was there for the talks.
Trump announced last week he would levy 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico if they did not stop undocumented people and drugs from crossing their respective borders into the U.S.
Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., told the Associated Press Trudeau was successful in getting the president-elect to understand that lumping the flow of migrants and drugs into the U.S. from Canada with those from Mexico is unfair.
“The message that our border is so vastly different than the Mexican border was really understood,” Hillman said. “The facts are hard to deny.”
Still, Trudeau has promised to increase northern border security in a “visible and muscular way,” LeBlanc told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
After their meeting, Trump posted on social media that it was “productive” and Trudeau had “made a commitment to work with us.”
Trump plans new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China over drugs, migrants
President-elect Donald Trump vows to hit Canada, Mexico and China with new tariffs on their products coming into the U.S. And TSA is laying out its expectations as the Tuesday before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel days of the year. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024.
Trump plans new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China over drugs, migrants
President-elect Donald Trump has announced some of the first executive orders he plans to issue on day one of his administration. Trump said he will make good on a campaign promise by raising tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico – the latter two being the top trading partners of the U.S. – due to illegal border crossings and drugs entering the country.
Trump made the announcements Monday night, Nov. 25, on his Truth Social platform. He targeted Canada and Mexico first.
The president-elect said on his first day in office, he will impose a 25% tariff on all products coming into the United States from those two countries, which account for 30% of trade volumes. Trump said the tariffs will remain in effect until drugs, specifically fentanyl, and illegal immigrants stop crossing into the U.S.
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) November 26, 2024
“Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem,” Trump said. “We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!”
In a second post on Truth Social, Trump turned his attention to China, saying he’ll charge China an additional 10% above any other tariffs on all their products coming into the U.S.
While he said he has had many talks with Chinese officials about drugs being sent into the U.S., Trump said nothing has changed. He added, “Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before.”
Reaction has been coming in from the countries affected by Trump’s tariff plans.
Chinese Embassy Spokesperson Liu Pengyu said, “China believes that China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature. No one will win a trade or a tariff war.”
In a joint statement, Canada’s deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, and public safety minister, Dominic LeBlancr, said, “Canada and the United States have one of the strongest and closest relationships – particularly when it comes to trade and border security. Canada places the highest priority on border security and the integrity of our shared border.”
Ricardo Monreal, Mexico’s lower house leader for the ruling party, responded in a post on X, saying, “The imposition of a possible tariff on Mexican products goes against the United States–Mexico–Canada agreement and does not solve the common problems of the border between Mexico and the United States…escalating trade retaliation would only hurt the people’s pocketbooks.”
Scott Bessent, Trump’s nominee for treasury secretary — who says tariffs would not add to inflation — supports the move, but many economists forecast tariffs would increase prices for U.S. consumers.
The Peterson Institute for International Economics estimated over the summer the tariff plan Trump promised on the campaign trail, which included 60% tariffs on Chinese goods, would cost the typical U.S. household more than $2,600 a year.
A CNBC analysis said retail chains like Five Below and Dollar Tree, along with online outlet Wayfair, would be some of the most vulnerable companies when it comes to a trade war.
Meanwhile, multiple reports said President-elect Trump spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Monday night following the social media posts. The reports said the two had a “good conversation” about trade and border security.
Federal judge dismisses Trump’s 2020 election interference charges
Special Counsel Jack Smith has dropped all federal charges against President-elect Trump in connection with attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. He filed the motion Monday and a federal judge granted it within hours.
A different judge had already dismissed the federal charges against Trump for mishandling classified documents. Smith was appealing that decision before he dropped those charges as well on Monday.
The Justice Department’s longstanding position that a sitting president cannot be charged with a crime is set to apply to Trump once he takes office again in January, which is why Smith decided to give up the cases against him.
On Truth Social, Trump posted, “I persevered, against all odds, and won.”
FBI agent acquitted in 2020 shooting arrested on sexual assault charges
An FBI agent has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting two women, according to police in Montgomery County, Maryland. Authorities there also said they believe there might be other victims out there.
Valdivia is now suspended from the FBI pending the outcome of this case.
This is not his first brush with the law. In 2020, prosecutors charged Valdivia with attempted murder in an off-duty shooting on a metro train in Bethesda, Maryland. A Montgomery County jury found him not guilty in that case in 2022.
Macy’s says employee hid $154M in expenses, delays Q3 report
Macy’s said one employee intentionally created so many accounting inconsistencies it had to delay its quarterly report.
While the department store chain said it saw stronger-than-expected sales from July to October this year, it also discovered a now-former employee hid up to $154 million in expenses over nearly three years. The company said the issue was related to delivery expenses in one of its accrual accounts.
Macy’s delayed its third-quarter earnings report after the retailer said an employee hid up to $154 million in delivery expenses over several years, prompting an investigation https://t.co/7PlNTb2qp0
While the questionable expenses only account for a small fraction of the $4.36 billion in delivery expenses during that almost three-year period, the company found the errors to be significant enough to delay reporting its full quarterly earnings.
That report was originally set to be released Tuesday, Nov. 26. It has now been pushed back until Dec. 11.
TSA preparing for ‘busiest Thanksgiving ever’ for air travel
Thanksgiving travel is taking off and this year is expected to be another for the record books. The Transportation Security Administration said it’s ready for the rush and expects to screen 18.3 million people at U.S. airports from Tuesday through next Monday, Dec. 2.
Today we kick off our busiest travel week of the year! Flying to visit with family or friends? Start your packing with an empty bag. Leftover items from past adventures often include prohibited items. Unsure what’s allowed in your carry-on or checked bag? Send a DM to our @AskTSA… pic.twitter.com/kduiVqKY5a
The Sunday after Thanksgiving, Dec. 1, is expected to be the busiest day for air travel. The TSA estimates more than three million people are likely to pass through their checkpoints that day alone.
The word went viral after a video was posted on TikTok by user @JoolsLebron in August. Dictionary.com said demure saw a nearly 1,200% increase in usage in digital web media alone from January to the end of August, mainly attributed to the video.
The website said while demure was traditionally used to describe those who are reserved and quiet, the new usage seen on social media is meant to describe refined and sophisticated appearance or behavior.
Canada might seek trade deal with US without Mexico
With the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement scheduled for review in 2025, there’s talk Canada might cut its own deal with the United States. Such a bilateral deal would leave Mexico out.
Canadian leaders are now openly accusing Mexico of allowing China access to the North American free-trade zone. This would allow Chinese products to bypass both American and Canadian existing tariffs.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he raised those concerns with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at the recent G20 summit. However, Sheinbaum dismissed the complaints as campaign rhetoric.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford took matters a step further in a phone call with other provincial premiers. He accused Mexico of bringing in cheap Chinese parts, putting made-in-Mexico stickers on those products and shipping them to the United States and Canada.
Ford says that process has caused job loss in both Canada and the U.S. He wants to see Canada make a separate bilateral trade deal with the United States.
Currently, Canada and Mexico send 80% of their exports to the United States. On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump criticized Chinese investment in Mexico. He’s also threatened to place steep tariffs on products coming into the U.S. that might’ve been manufactured in China.
As 2025 approaches, Canada says it wants fair trade. As a result, Canadian leaders say that puts it at odds with Mexico.
World leaders post reactions to Trump’s election victory
Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential race is leading to reaction from world leaders. That reaction began trickling in during the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a huge victory and congratulated Trump on his “historic return to the White House. “He called it a new beginning for the great alliance between Israel and America.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom Trump previously termed as weak, posted on X, saying the friendship between Canada and U.S. is the envy of the world and they will work together to create prosperity.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also posted his congratulations, saying the two countries will continue to work together to promote prosperity and freedom.
Also posting on X, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy wrote, “Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump on his impressive election victory! I recall our great meeting with President Trump back in September, when we discussed in detail the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership, the Victory Plan, and ways to put an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine.”
By contrast, the Kremlin’s press secretary told reporters on Wednesday, Nov. 6, he is not aware of any plans for Russian President Vladimir Putin to congratulate Trump. He also called the United States an unfriendly country, that is directly or indirectly involved in a war against Russia.
Donald Trump had stated in his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris during the campaign that he will end the war between Ukraine and Russia before he takes office.
Canada plans major cuts to immigration numbers
Canada is set to significantly reduce the number of immigrants it allows into the country. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that after years of constant increases in immigration numbers, the government “didn’t get the balance quite right.”
The country’s federal government plans to lower its annual immigration targets. The new targets will decrease from 485,000 this year to approximately 395,000 in 2025, 380,000 in 2026, and 365,000 in 2027.
Last month, the country’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced cuts to immigration quotas, reducing student visas and capping temporary foreign workers for businesses.
Canada’s government has been facing criticism because of the influx of immigrants, as the country’s unemployment rate remains high —at around 6.5%. Canada’s economy is creating fewer jobs, and for temporary residents the unemployment rate sits at around 14%.
Critics of Canada’s high immigration numbers argue that the influx of new immigrants has increased demand for housing and health care, leaving many Canadian cities grappling with a housing affordability crisis and overwhelmed health care systems.
Trudeau’s announcement comes one day after Canadian news media reported that members of his Liberal Party presented him with a letter calling on him to resign as prime minister.
Mysterious white blobs found along Canada’s coastline prompt investigations
Mysterious white blobs have been appearing along Canada’s beaches, prompting concern and curiosity from both the public and experts. The Canadian Coast Guard has reportedly been called in to assist with investigating the situation, which spans approximately 28 miles of coastline.
The blobs, varying in size from as small as a coin to as large as a dinner plate, have a spongy and firm texture, as some locals compare their appearance to pancakes.
Marine experts are conducting tests to determine the nature of the gelatinous masses, but the investigation could take months to yield definitive answers.
So far, preliminary analysis has ruled out a variety of biological and man-made substances. Products such as petroleum lubricant, Styrofoam, and biofuel have been dismissed as possible sources, while natural explanations, including whale vomit and sea sponges, have also been ruled out.
Authorities are urging the public to avoid contact with the blobs until more information is available. The investigation remains ongoing as experts work to identify the substances and assess any potential risks to the marine ecosystem or public health.