Trump dynamites G-7
Trump withdraws US signature from the final G-7 statement after accusing Canada’s Trudeau of being “dishonest and weak” in standing up to him
The G7 summit in Quebec has ended as a total fiasco. Just three hours after the leaders, including US President Donald Trump, managed to present a face-saving communiqué to end the summit, the US president torpedoed the agreement. On board Air Force One on his way to Singapore, Trump went back on his word and withdrew the US endorsement from the tenuous statement.
It took simply two scathing tweets justifying his action on statements made by the Canadian Prime Minister and host of the summit, Justin Trudeau. Trump literally claimed that Trudeau had been “weak and dishonest” at the closing press conference, had made false claims and that “Canada imposes massive tariffs on the US,” especially in dairy products.
There had been doubts earlier as to Trump actually accepting the text but with the leaders already back in their countries, there was great surprise at the speed with which the US backed out. The fact that Trudeau’s comments had already been aired at the summit showed Trump was seeking an excuse to withdraw. Trudeau simply repeated that Canada was unwilling to accept a “sunset clause” which would mean the eventual end to the NAFTA treaty and that while the US and Canada enjoyed a special relationship, his country would not be pushed around by the US.
While the US president’s actions were answered by the other leaders with statements promising unity, there are serious fears that this could be the death knell for the G-7 which has been a stabilising force for more than 20 years and that this could lead to an all out trade war.