SINGAPORE (Reuters) - President Donald Trump fired off a volley of tweets on Monday 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.
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.
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, non-tariff barriers and subsidies,” the statement said, which came despite Washington appearing intent on taking more punitive steps on trade.
It is unclear if Trump’s focus on getting tough with trade partners, and solving the North Korean nuclear issue will have some influence on voters in the mid-term congressional elections in November.
While foreign policy issues like North Korea don’t usually have much bearing on the polls, Trump’s extraordinary outburst on Monday against NATO allies, the European Union and Canada appeared aimed at striking chord with voters who support his “America First” agenda.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why Trump had focused his tweets on Canada and the EU over trade disputes and on NATO partners over defense costs and not on his talks with Kim set for Tuesday.
Asked whether allies had any reason to worry about Trump’s commitment to any deal he reaches with North Korea following his abrupt withdrawal from the G7 communique, one U.S. official appeared to brush aside the notion, saying other countries have got used to how the president operates internationally.
“LONG SHADOW”
The prospect that Trump could be moving toward an even greater protectionist trade policy is likely to chill financial markets worried about tit-for-tit escalation that could lead to a full-blown global trade war.
“Business confidence, and subsequently capital spending, is at risk if this tension continues through the summer,” said Tai Hui, J.P. Morgan Asset Management Chief Market Strategist for Asia Pacific. “This could cast a long shadow over global growth, which has rebounded in recent weeks after a soft start to the year.”
Nevertheless, markets were relatively calm on Monday ahead of the European open, although the Canadian dollar slipped a little in early trade.
Trump also lambasted fellow members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) for paying disproportionately less than the United States to maintain the Western alliance.
By ordering his representatives to back out of the communique, Trump appeared to be asserting his oft-stated aim of upsetting the status quo, whether by pulling out of the global climate accord or the international nuclear deal with Iran or threats to scrap the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
On Monday, Trump also renewed attacks on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had hosted the G7 meeting in Quebec.
PLACE IN HEAVEN
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow accused Trudeau of betraying Trump with “polarizing” statements on trade policy that risked making the U.S. leader look weak ahead of the historic summit with Kim.
“(Trudeau) really kind of stabbed us in the back,” Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council who had accompanied Trump to Canada, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Trade adviser Peter Navarro told “Fox News Sunday” that “there is a special place in hell for any leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy” with Trump.
Trudeau, in Quebec City for bilateral meetings with non-G7 leaders after the summit, did not comment as he arrived.
But he got direct personal support from some European leaders.
British Prime Minister Theresa May “is fully supportive” of Trudeau and his leadership, a senior UK government source said, while European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted: “There is a special place in heaven for @JustinTrudeau.”
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