Melanie Joly to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Rubio as tariff threat looms

Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly and Minister of Public Safety David McGuinty participate in a media availability in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

WASHINGTON — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly was back in Washington, D.C., Wednesday to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as President Donald Trump’s pick for commerce secretary linked Trump’s tariff threat back to border security.

Joly said Monday that she still believes diplomacy can fend off Trump’s plan to hit Canada with 25 per cent across-the-board duties as early as Saturday.

She spoke with Rubio by phone last week and described the new secretary of state as a “good interlocutor.” Joly said they spoke about “the importance of standing up against China together.”

This is Joly’s fifth visit to the U.S. since last November’s presidential election — part of her efforts to convince American lawmakers that imposing tariffs on Canada would run counter to both countries' interests.

Trump initially said he would levy the duties against Canada and Mexico unless they stopped the flow of people and drugs illegally crossing the border.

Ottawa responded with a $1.3 billion border security plan and some provinces have separately boosted border enforcement. But Trump expanded his complaints about America’s northern neighbour far beyond border security.

During Wednesday’s Senate hearing on his nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Commerce, billionaire financier Howard Lutnick said the 25 per cent tariff threat is separate from Trump’s long-term tariff plans.

He said it was not a “tariff per se” but a type of domestic policy to force Canada and Mexico to take action at the borders.

“You know that the labs in Canada are run by Mexican cartels. This tariff model is simply to shut their borders ... Respect America,” Lutnick said Wednesday. “If we are your biggest trading partner, show us the respect. Shut your border and end fentanyl coming into this country.”

The number of people and drugs crossing illegally into the United States from Canada is minuscule compared to the volume crossing the United States' southern border.

Lutnick said that he believes Canada and Mexico are “acting swiftly” on border security “and if they execute it, there will be no tariff and if they don’t, then there will be.”

Wednesday’s confirmation hearing also provided more insight into the Trump administration’s larger tariff plan. If confirmed, Lutnick will oversee a sprawling cabinet agency and Trump’s tariff agenda.

Lutnick said he prefers tariffs on entire countries, rather than on specific products. He said across-the-board tariffs “create reciprocity, fairness and respect.”

“My way of thinking, and I’ve discussed this with the president, is country by country, macro. Let America make it more fair,” Lutnick said. “We are treated horribly by the global trading environment. They all have higher tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and subsidies. They treat us poorly.”

Trump signed an executive action that orders multiple federal agencies to study trade policies and trade deficits. It directs the secretary of commerce and the secretary of homeland security to assess migration and fentanyl flows from Canada, Mexico and China and to recommend “appropriate trade and national security measures to resolve that emergency.”

It also instructs the U.S. trade representative to start consultations on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.

Trump’s executive action says that the report on trade with Canada is not due until April 1.

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford pitched himself Wednesday as the best steward of the province’s economy in the face of an unpredictable American president.

“This isn’t just about tariffs. The president has threatened economic force. He’s even floated the unthinkable — taking over Canadian territory,” Ford said during his first official campaign event in Windsor, against the backdrop of the Ambassador Bridge to the U.S.

“Let me say this loud and clear — Canada is not for sale.”

Ford has said Tuesday’s dissolution of the provincial legislature, which prompted a winter snap election, was required to get a strong mandate to push back on Trump’s threats. Opposition parties say Ford is trying to capitalize on good polling numbers.

Ford stuck to his justification Wednesday, saying duties are “a game to the president.”

“He seeks to divide and conquer, whether he imposes tariffs next week, next month or waits another year or more,” he said. “Trump’s threats are not going away.”

The Ontario leader remains chair of the Council of the Federation, a forum for Canada’s 13 premiers. They were set to hold a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on retaliatory tariffs and Canada-U. S. issues Wednesday.

Ottawa has prepared multiple options for retaliatory tariffs, depending on what Trump ultimately does.

— With files from Allison Jones in Toronto

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2025.