Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that his phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump was “colourful” with moments of tension as the two hashed out how to bring the American-led trade war to an end.
Trudeau said negotiations are ongoing to secure some form of tariff relief for certain sectors, but warned there’s no sign that Trump is willing to drop his levies entirely and it’s likely a trade dispute will continue “for the foreseeable future.”
Trudeau said there are ongoing discussions to have all of the tariffs dropped until April 2, when Trump is expected to impose another layer of retaliatory tariffs on all countries he claims are ripping off the U.S. But those talks have not been finalized and Trudeau said he was reluctant to comment until there is something concrete to announce.
The prime minister acknowledged that the 50-minute conversation between the two men on Wednesday was heated, but said it was a “substantive” call and that there could be a resolution to these issues, at least in the short term.
“Colourful” - That is a very diplomatic word for (what I assume is) Trump throwing a tantrum because Trudeau is not caving
How can you even negotiate with someone who is dishonest in the first place and has a record of not respecting any deals made?
Besides, it’s clear now that Trump is doing all of this in a scheme to manipulate world markets to his and his friends’ benefit, and to the detriment of everyone else. (Like they care anyway)
You can’t, but you have to try anyway. All of this is just buying time anyway, until the American either decide to get rid of him or dive headlong into being a fascist dictatorship.
I think it’s worth keeping the communication channel open? Trump 2.0 is definitely less mentally there than in his first term, and he may well forget some ultimatum he levelled only a couple of days ago.
This is not to say that Canada or any other country (or even US state or federal agency, for that matter) should pin their hopes on him coming to his senses in a brief moment of clarity. Absolutely keep up whatever efforts are already underway to resist, stymie, and work around what he dishes out.
