Trump throws G-7 into disarray with tweets after he leaves
A few hours earlier, Trudeau had told reporters that all seven leaders had come together to sign the joint declaration.
Trump
tweeted: "Based on Justin's 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!"
He
followed up by tweeting: "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!"
In
a statement, a spokesman for Trudeau did not address Trump's insults.
"We are focused on everything we accomplished here at the #G7 summit,"
spokesman Cameron Ahmad said. "The Prime Minister said nothing he hasn't
said before — both in public, and in private conversations with the
President."
During
an evening stroll with his wife and another couple, Trudeau was asked a
couple of times by a reporter for his reaction to Trump's tweets. And
he was also asked for his thoughts on what Trump's move could mean for
the future of the G7 .
Trudeau
didn't answer the questions, responding to journalists at the photo op:
"Good to see you guys ... It's a beautiful evening, a great weekend."
Trump's personal attack on Trudeau is unprecedented in the countries' longstanding relationship.
As
he exited the world summit, Trump had delivered a stark warning to
America's trading partners not to counter his decision to impose tariffs
on steel and aluminum imports. But the summit host, Trudeau, whose
nation was among those singled out by Trump, pushed back and said he
would not hesitate to retaliate against his neighbor to the south.
"If
they retaliate, they're making a mistake," Trump declared before
departing the annual Group of Seven summit, which includes Britain,
Italy, France, Germany and Japan.
Trudeau
later said he reiterated to Trump that tariffs will harm industries and
workers on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border. He said unleashing
retaliatory measures "is not something I relish doing" but that he
wouldn't hesitate to do so because "I will always protect Canadian
workers and Canadian interests."
"As Canadians, we are polite, we're reasonable, but also we will not be pushed around," Trudeau said.
Despite
the sharp differences, Trudeau said all seven leaders had come together
to sign a joint declaration despite having "some strong, firm
conversations on trade, and specifically on American tariffs."
Trump
himself insisted relationships with allies were a "ten" just before he
left the summit. But Trump's abbreviated stay at this Quebec resort saw
him continuing the same type of tough talk on trade as when he departed
the White House, when he accused Trudeau of being "indignant."
The
summit came during an ongoing trade dispute with China and served as a
precursor to the unprecedented meeting with Kim, in which Trump has
sought to extend a hand to the Asian autocrat who has long bedeviled the
international order.
"His
message from Quebec to Singapore is that he is going to meld the
industrial democracies to his will — and bring back Russia," said Steve
Bannon, Trump's former campaign and White House adviser. Bannon said
China is "now on notice that Trump will not back down from even allies'
complaints in his goal of 'America First.'"
Speaking
on Saturday during a rare solo news conference, Trump said he pressed
for the G-7 countries to eliminate all tariffs, trade barriers and
subsidies in their trading practices. He reiterated his longstanding
view that the U.S. has been taken advantage of in global trade, adding,
"We're like the piggy bank that everybody's robbing, and that ends."
He
said U.S. farmers had been harmed by tariffs and other barriers and
warned that U.S. trading partners would need to provide him with more
favorable terms. "It's going to stop or we'll stop trading with them,"
he said.
Trump
cited progress on reaching an agreement on the North American Free
Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, saying the final outcome would
lead either to an improved trade deal or separate pacts with the two
U.S. neighbors. Trump said he was discussing two types of sunset
provisions in which any of the countries could leave the deal. A
Canadian official said the leaders discussed accelerating the pace of
the talks.
But
Trudeau objected strenuously to a sunset clause of any length. "If you
put an expiry date on any trade deal, that's not a trade deal. That's
our unequivocal position," he said.
Prior
to his arrival on Friday, the president injected additional controversy
by suggesting that the G-7 offer a seat at the table to Russia, which
was ousted from the group in 2014. Trump said Saturday that re-admitting
Russia to the elite club would be "an asset," telling reporters, "We're
looking for peace in the world." Trump said he had not spoken with
Russian President Vladimir Putin in a while.
Discussing
Russia's absence, Trump made the vague comment that "something happened
a while ago where Russia is no longer in. I think it would be an asset
to have Russia back in." In fact, Russia was expelled from what was then
the G-8 after it invaded and annexed Crimea and for its support for
pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine.
Trump
placed the blame on his predecessor, President Barack Obama. "He was
the one who let Crimea get away — that was during his administration,"
he said, adding: "Obama can say all he wants, but he allowed Russia to
take Crimea. I may have had a much different attitude."
It
was not clear what Trump thought Obama should have done to prevent
Putin from sending in Russian troops to seize the Black Sea peninsula
from neighboring Ukraine.
Trudeau said he told Trump that readmitting Russia "is not something that we are even remotely looking at at this time."
Trump
departed the annual G-7 gathering after arriving late to a breakfast on
gender equity and skipping later sessions on climate change, clean
energy and ocean protection.
Trump's
recent moves, building on 18 months of nationalist policy-making, left
him out of step with the globally minded organization and prompted
speculation that the group could fracture into something more like the
"G-6 plus one."
A
key question was whether the seven countries could agree on a joint
statement of priorities at the conclusion of the meeting. Macron said
Thursday on Twitter, "The American President may not mind being
isolated, but neither do we mind signing a 6 country agreement if need
be." Trump said Friday he thinks the group will produce a joint
statement.
In
public, Trump bantered easily with his fellow leaders, but the meeting
came at a tense moment in the relationships, with allies steaming over
Trump's new tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from Canada, Mexico
and the European Union.
French
President Emmanuel Macron said he and Trump had "open and direct"
discussions, adding that he thought there was a way to get a "win-win"
outcome on trade. Details remained unclear.
___
Thomas
reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and
Darlene Superville in Washington, and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed
to this report.
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