Trump
won't endorse G7 joint statement, attacks 'weak & dishonest'
Trudeau
9
June, 2018
Hours
after the G7 summit, US President Donald Trump is attacking Canadian
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau again for "false statements,"
and he is refusing to endorse the summit's communique that called for
reducing tariff barriers.
On
Saturday, Trump lapsed into his pre-summit rhetoric again, calling
Trudeau "dishonest and week" in a fresh series of angry
tweets. He reiterated that the recently imposed US tariffs on metal
imports from Canada and other nations are a response to what he
believes is trade inequality.
Trump
lashed out at "Justin's false statements" at a press
conference following the summit. There, Trudeau repeated his earlier
description of US trade tariffs as "insulting" and vowed
retaliatory measures would come in July.
A
few minutes later, Trump changed his Twitter profile header picture
from the G7 family photo to a photograph of himself singing the
anthem with members of US military in Atlanta in January this year –
apparently another jab at his summit-mates, considering how far back
he had to dig to find that one.
Trudeau’s
office responded to the verbal attack in a statement saying that the
PM did nothing to provoke an outburst from Trump.
“The
Prime Minister said nothing he hasn’t said before — both in
public, and in private conversations with the President,” it
stated, adding that the Canadian government remains “focused on
everything we accomplished here at the summit.”
"We
strive to reduce tariff barriers, non-tariff barriers and subsidies,"
the post-summit statement by the G7 leaders, which was released about
an hour before Trump's fresh rant, read. For that hour, it seemed
like a step toward reconciliation: French President Emmanuel Macron,
also at dagger's point with Trump over tariffs, called the document
"good news," though on a more cautious note he added:
“Nevertheless, I do not consider that with a declaration all is
obtained and it is obvious that we will have in the coming weeks, the
next months, to continue to work.”
On
Twitter, the French leader was more assertive about the summit’s
success, claiming that “our exchanges have made it possible to
restore the truth over trade between Europe and the United States.”
Before
Trump's turnaround, British Prime Minister Theresa May, who Trump
snubbed at the summit, strove to reinforce the image of the "special"
US-UK relationship. “We work closely with President Trump, and the
UK has a very good relationship with the United States,” she said,
noting that the two-day summit was filled with “some difficult
discussions and strong debate.”
In
the run-up to the summit, Trump riled up his fellow world leaders
with accusations of unfair trade practices, earning him some flak
from both Trudeau and Macron, who even suggested that the G7 could
fare as the G6, without the US if need be. During the summit itself,
Trump's behavior seemed almost deliberately disdainful: coming late,
leaving early, contradicting others on Russia and suggesting that
Canada lift all tariffs on US goods (which elicited a nervous laugh
from Trudeau).
From the Hill
President
Trump exited the Group of Seven (G-7) summit on Saturday with a stark
warning to some of Washington's closest allies: reduce trade barriers
or face consequences.
As
he prepared to depart early from the G-7 summit in Charlevoix,
Canada, to head to Singapore ahead of his planned meeting with North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump delivered an ultimatum to foreign
leaders, demanding that their countries reduce trade barriers for the
U.S. or risk losing market access to the world's largest economy
"They
have no choice. I'll be honest with you, they have no choice,"
Trump told reporters at a news conference, adding that companies and
jobs had left the U.S. to escape trade barriers abroad. "We're
going to fix that situation. And if it's not fixed, then we're not
going to deal with these countries."
“We’re
the piggy bank that everybody is robbing,” Trump added at one
point. “And that ends.”
He
also warned the countries against trying to hit back against the
steel and aluminum tariffs his administration recently announced,
adding that he would continue to pursue such trade measures until
other countries relented and agreed to "fair" trade deals
with the U.S.
"The
European Union [EU] is brutal to the United States. And they
understand that. They know it," he told reporters at a news
conference ahead of his departure from Canada. "When I'm telling
them, they're smiling at me, like, the gig is up."
"They
can't believe they got away with it. Canada can't believe it got away
with it," he continued. "Mexico — we have a $100 billion
trade deficit with Mexico, and that doesn't include all the drugs
that are pouring in."
In
leaving the G-7 summit early, Trump avoided sessions on climate
change and the world's oceans, underscoring the stark divide in his
priorities and those of traditional U.S. allies.
Going
into the summit on Friday, Trump had already cast himself as the odd
man out among G-7 leaders.
He
sparred on Thursday with French President Emmanuel Macron and
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over his administration's
decision to impose stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from
the EU, Mexico and Canada.
The
White House announced Thursday night that Trump would leave
Charlevoix on Saturday morning and travel directly to Singapore ahead
of his planned meeting with Kim on Tuesday — an early departure
widely seen as a snub to G-7 allies.
And
as the summit began, Trump called on the group to readmit Russia to
the G-7 — a call that was swiftly shot down by most of the other
members' leaders. Russia was kicked out of the group in 2014 after it
annexed Crimea from Ukraine.
Despite
that pushback, Trump continued to insist in his remarks on Saturday
that Russia should be allowed back into the group of nations. Doing
so, he said, would be a "positive thing."
"I
would say the G-8 is a more meaningful group than the G-7," he
said, referring to the group's name prior to Russia's suspension.
Trump
also made a veiled reference to Russia's annexation of Crimea,
alluding to the fact that "something happened a while ago"
that prompted Moscow's suspension from the G-7. He later placed blame
on his predecessor, former President Obama, for allowing Russia to
take control of the territory.
At
several points in his news conference, Trump appeared to take a
friendlier tone toward North Korea than he did toward many of
Washington's G-7 allies. He spoke about the North's potential to be a
"great" country, and said he looked forward to meeting with
Kim on Tuesday.
"I
really feel confident," he said. "I really feel that Kim
Jong Un wants to do something great for his people and he has that
opportunity and he’ll never have that opportunity again."
With
Trump's early departure on Saturday, speculation swirled that the
U.S. would be excluded from the traditional joint communique issued
by the G-7 nations at the close of the summit.
Trudeau
ended that speculation on Saturday afternoon, hours after Trump
departed Canada, saying in closing remarks at the summit that all
seven countries had signed on to the statement.
Asked
at his news conference on Saturday about the state of U.S. relations
with other G-7 member states, Trump insisted that they had never been
better.
"The
level of relationship is a 10. Angela [Merkel], Emmanuel [Macron],
Justin [Trudeau]. I would say the relationship is a 10,” he said,
after haranguing the CNN reporter who asked the question as "fake
news."
He
added: "The relationship that I've had is great, so you can tell
that to your fake friends at CNN."
In
a series of tweets issued hours after he left the summit on Saturday,
Trump touted what he called "great meetings and relationships"
with the six other G-7 leaders. But he insisted that his foreign
counterparts understood his gripes about trade imbalances.
"Just
left the @G7 Summit in beautiful Canada. Great meetings and
relationships with the six Country Leaders especially since they know
I cannot allow them to apply large Tariffs and strong barriers to
U.S.A. Trade," he tweeted. "They fully understand where I
am coming from. After many decades, fair and reciprocal Trade will
happen!"
But,
hours later, Trump seemed to pivot on his feelings toward the
summit's outcome.
“Based
on Justin’s [Trudeau] false statements at his news conference, and
the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our U.S. farmers,
workers and companies, I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse
the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S.
Market!” Trump tweeted.
The
snub came just hours after Trudeau had confirmed that all G-7 members
had signed the joint statement at the summit's conclusion, as is
customary.
During
the summit, Trudeau had issued a stinging rebuke of U.S. tariffs,
asserting that Canadians “will not be pushed around” by
Washington.
In
a second tweet issued a minute after Trump announced the United
States's withdrawal from the communique, the president defended the
tariffs and accused Trudeau of acting “meek and mild” during the
G-7 meetings.
“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 wrote.
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