Minister Joly: Trump Holds the Key to Tariffs Following Rubio Meeting

January 30, 2025 TruthUSA

Canadian officials are working diligently in Washington to avoid U.S. tariffs, but they are still uncertain about U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly after her meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Joly met with Rubio for the first time in his new role on Jan. 29. Although she mentioned that her arguments explaining the consequences for both countries if tariffs are imposed are making an impact, Joly stated that she lacks insight into the U.S. administration’s intentions.

“Am I able to predict President Trump’s decisions? No, definitely not,” she stated, referring to Trump as the ultimate decision-maker.

Joly discussed Canada’s border plan, the potential impacts of tariffs, and Ottawa’s readiness to retaliate with Rubio. They also talked about various geopolitical issues, such as Ukraine, the Middle East, the Arctic, and China.

Rubio’s office released a readout of the meeting, highlighting their collaboration on border and energy security matters.

Rubio’s office also commended Canada for standing up against the CCP’s coercive economic actions. Ottawa had previously imposed a 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles and a 25 percent tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum.

Tariffs Intended for ‘Action’

While details on potential U.S. tariffs were not disclosed during the Rubio meeting, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, shed light on the tariff strategy during his Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 29.

Lutnick stated that the threat of 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico was meant to prompt action to strengthen the border and that tariffs could be averted if the response was satisfactory. He also mentioned the possibility of a second wave of tariffs following a review of trade imbalances by the U.S. government in the spring.

Trump had initiated the review through a memorandum on his first day in office on Jan. 20. In his initial tariff threat back in late November 2024, Trump had announced the imposition of broad tariffs on his first day.

In response to the threat, Ottawa prepared a $1.3 billion border plan, which includes deploying two newly-acquired Black Hawk helicopters for border patrol, along with additional surveillance equipment and detector dog teams.

Lutnick praised Canada’s swift actions regarding the border plan, stating that if executed properly, there would be no tariffs.

This contrasted with the White House’s announcement

Joly considered Lutnick’s remarks as favorable and mentioned that each time she presents the border plan and related statistics on illegal immigration and fentanyl to U.S. officials, it resonates positively.

In the previous fiscal year, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had intercepted 43 pounds of fentanyl from Canada and 21,000 pounds from Mexico. Additionally, CBP encountered 199,000 removable non-citizens at the northern border compared to 2.1 million at the southern border.

Although there is a significant disparity in those figures, Canada is facing a growing fentanyl issue, as noted by the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC). Their 2024 public report highlighted an increasing number of criminal groups engaged in the fentanyl trade, with a rising trend of production and exportation from Canada.

CBP had also intercepted more individuals on a terrorist watchlist crossing from Canada into the United States (358) compared to those crossing from Mexico (52) in fiscal year 2024.

There have been instances of foreign nationals exploiting legitimate Canadian visas to enter Canada with the intent of illegally crossing into the United States, according to federal authorities. Immigration Canada reported a decrease in such abuses following increased scrutiny in recent months.

Matthew Horwood contributed to this report.

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