The United States on Saturday refused to sign a G-7 declaration calling for a reduction of tariffs and other barriers to trade, as President Donald Trump continued to lash out at traditionally close allies for allegedly treating the U.S. unfairly.
Earlier reports had indicated that the United States had endorsed the communique, but Trump subsequently posted a message on Twitter slamming Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s press conference held after the summit.
Trump said he had instructed U.S. representative not to endorse the G-7 communique and his administration was considering imposing tariffs on automobiles.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flatly rejected a proposal by the White House to insert a sunset clause in a re-negotiated North American Free Trade Agreement.
“We will not…sign a trade deal that expires every 5 years — that is not a trade deal,” Trudeau said.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull out of NAFTA if the agreement is not renegotiated in way that he views as more favorable for U.S. companies and workers.
There had been widespread speculation that the G-7 nations would not issue a joint communique that included the United States due to deep differences between Trump administration and close American allies on trade.
The Trump administration has imposed aluminum and steel tariffs on the other G-7 members — the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Canada and Japan — ratcheting up tensions between the U.S. and its allies in the run-up to the summit.
Earlier in the day, Trump appeared to offer an olive branch when he said there should be “tariff free” trade between the G-7 nations, though he did not elaborate on how or whether the US would reduce barriers. Instead, he focused on the need for other countries to reduce their barriers against the United States, such as Canadian duties on U.S. dairy.
During a press conference, Trump threatened to stop trading with countries that do not reduce barriers to American products.
“We’re talking to all countries, and it’s going to stop, or we’ll stop trading with them. And that’s a very profitable answer if we have to do it,” Trump said. “We’re like the piggy bank that everybody’s robbing, and that ends.”
During the summit, Trump reportedly showed up late to a breakfast discussion about gender equality and skipped sessions on climate change, clean energy and protecting the oceans.
Trump left the summit early to fly to Singapore, where he is set to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for historic negotiations in which the White House hopes to convince Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons.
After departing, Trump said the United States has “put up with trade abuse for many decades — and that is long enough.”
Tensions threatened to boil over before the summit even started, when French President Emmanuel Macron said the other 6 countries might sign a joint statement without the U.S.
During the summit, Trump reportedly showed up late to a breakfast discussion about gender equality and skipped sessions on climate change, clean energy and protecting the oceans.
Trump, hours after Macron’s statement, lashed out at the French President and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over trade, accusing them of levying “massive tariffs” and “non-monetary barriers.”
