al Jazeera:

Canada and Mexico say ready to respond as Trump tariff threat looms

By Ali Harb

Published On 31 Jan 202531 Jan 2025

• The leaders of Canada and Mexico say they are ready to respond to possible steep tariffs from the United States.
• US President Donald Trump has said he plans to follow through on his threat to impose 25-percent tariffs on both countries, spurring fears of a trade war.
• Trump faces widespread condemnation for blaming a plane crash near Washington, DC, on diversity hiring practices.
• The Republican president’s executive actions continue to sow alarm, including an order to freeze US foreign assistance that experts say will hamper global humanitarian aid efforts.

Venezuelan ministry says Maduro to meet with US envoy

Venezuela’s communications ministry has said President Nicolas Maduro will meet US envoy for Special Missions Richard Grenell.

The US and Venezuela have fraught ties marked by broken diplomatic relations, sanctions and accusations of criminal activity and coup-plotting.

CNN, which first broke the news of the meeting between Grenell and Maduro, said the US envoy is expected to discuss deportation flights to Venezuela.

The South American country has refused to take back any nationals from the US, where Trump is pushing to carry out his “mass deportation” plan.

We’ll bring you more on the talks when we can.

Richard Grenell

@RichardGrenell

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Just left an Oval meeting with @realDonaldTrump. He’s focused on what’s best for America and the American people.

10:38 AM · Jan 31, 2025

42m ago

 (16:15 GMT)

Trudeau convenes Canada-US council in advance of possible tariffs

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the country faces a “critical moment”.

Speaking before a meeting of the newly formed Canada-US Relations Council in Toronto, Trudeau said that if Trump imposes any tariffs against Canada, the country is “ready with a response”.

That response will be “forceful but reasonable”, the prime minister said. “It’s not what we want, but if he moves forward, we will also act.”

Trudeau added that members of the council have made clear that US tariffs would have “disastrous consequences for the United States, putting American jobs at risk, raising prices on Americans and undermining our collective security”.

Trudeau speaks in advance of a meeting in Toronto on January 31 [Cole Burston/Reuters]