UK will continue to work for deals despite ‘difficult’ G7, says PM
BRITAIN will continue to work for international agreement on issues like trade and security, Theresa May has vowed, following what she admitted was a “difficult” G7 summit where Donald Trump clashed with America’s traditional allies.
In a Commons statement on the world leaders’ gathering in Canada, the Prime Minister made clear that the UK intended to honour the commitments it signed up to even after the US President dramatically repudiated them in an end-of-summit tweet.
While making no direct criticism of Mr Trump, Mrs May told MPS: “This was a difficult summit with, at times, some very candid discussions, but the conclusion I draw is that it is only through continued dialogue that we can find ways to work together to resolve the challenges we face.
“The countries round the G7 table have been pillars of the rules-based international order, which has benefited all our citizens and the world as a whole. The United Kingdom, with our allies and partners, will continue to play our part in promoting that order to the benefit of all.”
Describing the US tariffs on European steel and aluminium as “unjustified”, she left no doubt that EU nations would impose counter-measures on US goods in response but cautioned against tit-for-tat retaliation which might lead to a trade war.
Shortly after the summit ended on Saturday, Mr Trump used Twitter to announce that he was ordering officials not to endorse the G7 communique agreed hours earlier by the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
His tweet, shortly after leaving Charlevoix in Quebec, came in response to what he claimed were “false statements” by the summit host, Canadian premier Justin Trudeau.
But the PM’S spokesman left no doubt that Mrs May continued to regard the communique as binding on the US.
“It was agreed by all parties who attended G7,” declared the spokesman at a Westminster press briefing. “We fully intend to honour it. We would hope that the US would similarly honour the commitments that they have made.”
Ian Blackford for the SNP claimed the PM’S “Brexiter sidekicks” were “delusional” in believing the UK could secure a post-brexit trade deal with the US.
The Nationalist leader said a “looming” trade war with America showed the weakness of the special relationship as he also criticised the Mrs May for being “pushed around” by “hard Brexit” ministers ahead of the G7 summit.
Mrs May defended her Government’s approach before insisting the relationship between the two countries continued to be strong and, she insisted, would endure in the future.
Earlier, Jeremy Corbyn claimed the G7 summit had “failed” because of Trump’s “America first” policy, which, the Labour leader argued, had “meant the dismantling of multilateral agreements, the pulling out of the Paris climate change accords and the destabilisation of the Iran nuclear deal, and now tariffs”.