Trump backs out of G-7 agreement, blasts Canada's Trudeau as 'weak and dishonest'
Trump backs out of G-7 agreement, blasts Canada's Trudeau as 'weak and dishonest'
June 9, 2018
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U.S. President Donald Trump broke with two days of international diplomacy on Sunday, announcing over Twitter that he has decided not to sign the agreement reached by the Group of Seven during the global summit that took place in Quebec over the weekend.
The U.S. president blasted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying that the latter's comments, made in a press conference following the meeting, were "false statements" and accusing him of being "weak and dishonest."
skip - U.S. President Donald Trump tweets decision not to sign G-7 statementU.S. President Donald Trump tweets decision not to sign G-7 statementDonald Trump/ Twitter
"PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, 'US Tariffs were kind of insulting' and he 'will not be pushed around.' Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!" Trump tweeted.
The bombshell tweet came after G7 nations appeared to have papered over the cracks in their alliance at the two-day summit in La Malbaie, Quebec, where Trump defiantly brandished his "America First" agenda.
skip - U.S. President Donald Trump bashes Canadian Prime Minister Justin TrudeauU.S. President Donald Trump bashes Canadian Prime Minister Justin TrudeauDonald Trump/ Twitter
All the group's leaders had spoken publicly about the summit and the Canadian government had issued the communique when Trump's tweets were posted.
There was no immediate reaction from the Canadian government on Trump's tweets.
The European Union, however, said it will adhere to the communique issued by G7 leaders. "We will stick to the communique as agreed by all participants," a spokesman for European Council President Donald Tusk said.
Trump, who last week slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, the European Union and Mexico, threatened at the summit to cut off trade with countries that treated the United States unfairly.
"We're like the piggy bank that everybody is robbing," he said at an earlier news conference as his counterparts continued their meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, and officials hammered out a joint communique.
"This isn't just G7. I mean, we have India, where some of the tariffs are 100 percent ... And we charge nothing," Trump said. "And it's going to stop. Or we'll stop trading with them."
The communique said the leaders of the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Japan agreed on the need for "free, fair, and mutually beneficial trade" and the importance of fighting protectionism. "We strive to reduce tariff barriers, non-tariff barriers and subsidies," the statement said.
Trump, who argues his tariffs are meant to protect U.S. industry and workers from unfair international competition, told reporters he had suggested to the other G7 leaders that all trade barriers, including tariffs and subsidies, be eliminated.
The U.S. president is en route to Singapore for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which Trump described as a "mission of peace."
DPA contributed to this report.
https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/trum...nest-1.6158783
