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Trump rejects joint G7 communique, accuses Canada PM of lying

US President Donald Trump (L) and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) stand together during the Welcome ceremony on the first day of the G7 Summit, on 8 June, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

US President Donald Trump has called on American representatives at the G7 summit not to endorse the joint communique put out by the heads of the Group of Seven industrialized nations following what he alleged as “false statements” made by Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trump made the statement on Twitter Saturday after departing early from the summit in Quebec for Singapore, insisting that Trudeau’s remarks that Canada would not be pushed around “were very dishonest and weak.”

“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.’ Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!” Trump tweeteed.

"Based on Justin's false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our US farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our US Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the US Market!" the US president further stated.

US President Donald Trump speaks as he leaves the G7 summit in La Malbaie, Quebec, June 9, 2018.  (Photo by AFP)

This is while the office of the Canadian prime minister issued a statement following Trump’s twitter message, insisting that Trudeau said nothing at the G7 summit that he had not told Trump in person, AFP reported.

Trump’s statement from aboard Air Force One presidential aircraft en route to Singapore – where he is to hold a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un -- came just minutes after the publication of a joint communique that had been approved by the other G7 leaders.

Earlier, Trudeau had insisted in a press briefing that Trump's decision to invoke national security to justify US tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum was "insulting" to Canadian veterans who had stood by their US allies in conflict's dating back to World War I.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses a press conference at the conclusion of the G7 summit in La Malbaie, Quebec, June 9, 2018.  (Photo by AFP)

"Canadians are polite and reasonable but we will also not be pushed around," he emphasized, further adding revealing that he had told Trump "it would be with regret but it would be with absolute clarity and firmness that we move forward with retaliatory measures on July 1, applying equivalent tariffs to the ones that the Americans have unjustly applied to us."

However, press reports indicated that despite the tension and determination of European leaders President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany to push back on Trump's assault on the world trade system, when the US president left the summit it was thought a compromise had been reached.

Officials from European delegations quickly leaked copies of the joint statement to reporters, who published it online before Trump released the tweet messages.

Trump claimed America had been obliged to levy the metals tariffs as it has been exploited as the world's "piggy bank" under existing arrangements, but his counterparts were equally determined to protect "rules-based" international trade.

The US president had also slammed American western trading partners, saying "all of these countries have been taking advantage of the United States on trade."

"We have massive trade deficits with almost every country. We will straighten that out," he insisted.


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