‘TARIFFT’ WIDENS AT G-7
Trump’s fly-‘bye’ slam at ‘dishonest’ Trudeau
A furious President Trump on Saturday refused to sign a closing statement with the other Group of Seven countries, blaming the “very dishonest and weak” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his change of heart.
“Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs . . . I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique,” Trump tweeted in a parting shot, as he flew away on Air Force One en route to Singapore for Tuesday’s scheduled North Korea summit.
The move capped a tense, twoday conference in which Trump used some hardball negotiating tactics on America’s top allies.
It came as a shock after Trump gave a press conference striking a relatively conciliatory tone and Trudeau stated the US would sign the communique.
But the Canadian PM’s postsummit bluster — and threat of retaliatory tariffs on the US — appeared to set Trump off.
“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,’ ” Trump tweeted. “Very dishonest & weak.”
During his preflight press conference, Trump threatened to cut allies off from the massive US market if they don’t lower their trade barriers. “The gig is up.” he declared.
At the same time, Trump sought to entice foreign leaders with the prospect of turning the group into its own free-trade zone.
“That’s the way it should be — no tariffs, no barriers,” he said at a press conference in Charlevoix, Quebec, during the annual gathering of the world’s largest industrial democracies.
Trump’s free-trade remarks came days after he imposed steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that infuriated America’s biggest trading partners.
At the same time, he tightened the screws on Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, all of which apply tariffs, quotas and other barriers to incoming US goods.
“It’s going to stop, or we’ll stop trading with them,” Trump said. “We’re the piggy bank that everybody is robbing. And that ends.”
Despite the obvious tensions, Trump spoke in glowing terms of his personal relationships with G-7 heads of state.
“I would say that the level of relationship is a 10,” he boasted. “We have a great relationship. Angela [Merkel] and Emmanuel [Macron] and Justin” — referring to the leaders of Germany, France and Canada by their first names.
“That doesn’t mean I agree with what they’re doing. And they know very well that I don’t,” he said.
French President Macron was more tactful: “It is obvious that we will have in the coming weeks, the next months, to continue to work.”
Ailing Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain pushed back at Trump Saturday night, tweeting, “To our allies . . . America stands with you, even if our president doesn’t.”