Trump’s tweets spew ire on Nato allies, Canada
UNITED States President Donald Trump fired off a volley of tweets yesterday venting anger on Nato allies, the European Union and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the wake of a divisive G7 meeting over the weekend.
It came as Britain urged the US to honour commitments made at the G7 summit, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said yesterday, even after Trump rejected a joint communique in a bitter spat over trade tariffs.
“The communique was agreed by all the parties who attended the G7 and we fully intend to honour it. We would hope that the US will similarly honour the commitments they have made,” he said.
The escalating clash over trade between Washington and some of its closest global partners cast a cloud over Trump’s efforts to make history in nuclear talks in Singapore today with Kim Jong-un of North Korea, one of America’s bitterest foes.
Having left the Group of Seven summit in Canada early, Trump’s announcement that he was backing out of the joint communique torpedoed what appeared to be a fragile consensus on the trade dispute between Washington and its top allies.
Trump, who flew from Canada to Singapore on Sunday to prepare for the summit, said: “Fair trade is now to be called fool trade if it is not reciprocal.
“Sorry, we cannot let our friends, or enemies, take advantage of us on trade anymore. We must put the American worker first!”
The communique, which had appeared to have papered over the cracks that surfaced so uncharacteristically at the G7, said the leaders of the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Japan were agreed on the need for “free, fair, and mutually beneficial trade” and the importance of fighting protectionism.
“We strive to reduce tariff barriers, nontariff barriers and subsidies,” it said.
Trump’s extraordinary outburst yesterday against Nato allies, the European Union and Canada appeared aimed at striking a chord with voters who support his “America First” agenda.
At the same time, however, it put Trump in the position of going into a crucial summit at odds with countries he needs on his side to pressure North Korea to move toward dismantling a nuclear arsenal that threatens the United States.
“Not fair to the people of America! $800billion [R10.5-trillion] trade deficit,” he said.
“Why should I, as president of the United States, allow countries to continue to make massive trade surpluses, as they have for decades, while our farmers, workers & taxpayers have such a big and unfair price to pay?”
It was left to Trump’s aides to figure out how to explain Trump’s airing of grievances against trading partners instead of focusing on his coming talks with Kim, which the president’s supporters hope will give him a major foreign policy win.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised European countries for helping to bring about the North Korea summit, alluding to their enforcement of sanctions against Pyongyang.
He expressed confidence that US relations with other G7 countries would continue to move forward, despite the weekend clash in Canada.
“There are always irritants in relationships,” Pompeo said. He dismissed as ludicrous the notion that Kim would decide he could not trust the United States because of the G7 dispute.
One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged: “The timing for all this is not very good at all.”
The prospect that Trump could be moving toward an even greater protectionist trade policy is likely to chill financial markets worried about tit-for-tat escalation that could lead to a full-blown global trade war.
JP Morgan Asset Management Asia-Pacific chief market strategist Tai Hui said: “Business confidence, and subsequently capital spending, is at risk if this tension continues through the summer.
Nevertheless, markets were relatively calm yesterday after an early wobble.
Trump also lambasted fellow members of Nato for paying disproportionately less than the United States to maintain the Western alliance.
“The US pays close to the entire cost of Nato – protecting many of these same countries that rip us off on trade (they pay only a fraction of the cost – and laugh!),” he tweeted.