Before boarding a plane to Singapore for his highly anticipated meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, President Donald Trump took some hard swipes at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the lopsided trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada.
“Fair Trade is now to be called Fool Trade if it is not Reciprocal. According to a Canada release, they make almost 100 Billion Dollars in Trade with U.S. (guess they were bragging and got caught!),” the president tweeted on Monday morning. “Minimum is 17B. Tax Dairy from us at 270%. Then Justin acts hurt when called out!”
The president’s statement came shortly after the close of the G7 Summit hosted in Canada. While there, Trump doubled down on his “America First” policies, lambasting Canada as well as the European Union over what he called unfair trade deals. According to the president, the United States federal government will happily ratchet up protective trade measures unless international barriers on American goods are lifted.
Trudeau, who has criticized Trump’s recently imposed steel tariffs on Canadian imports several times in the past, referred to the administration’s moves as “unacceptable” in a press conference issued after the summit had ended. German Chancellor Angela Merkel quickly followed suit. The Canadian prime minister, often likened to former U.S. President Obama in terms of ideology and “boyish” appeal, also received praise from high-ranking European Union officials, including President Donald Tusk.
Tensions between Trump and Trudeau escalated even further as Trump made his way to Singapore. Responding to Trudeau’s “back-stabbing” press conference, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro held nothing back.
“There’s a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door,” he said.
Trump himself promised to continue taking measures to protect the interests of the American worker, noting the United States faces a massive trade deficit with just about every country it does business with.
“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? Not fair to the PEOPLE of America!” he said.
“$800 Billion Trade Deficit…And add to that the fact that the U.S. 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!). The European Union had a $151 Billion Surplus-should pay much more for Military!” Trump added.
Trump’s statements read like a sobering response to decades of America’s closest trading partners and military allies taking advantage of the world’s largest economic power. If anything should be clear by now, it’s that the EU, Canada, and NATO need the United States far more than the other way around.
If Canada really wants to complain about trade, perhaps it should address why the country maintains a 270% tariff on American dairy. If Germany really wants to complain about America’s contribution to NATO, perhaps it should address why the United States continues to foot the bulk of the bill to keep the military alliance afloat in the first place.
American taxpayers have been paying to keep rest of the entire western world running for the better part of the past half-century. All President Trump is doing is asking for America’s allies to contribute more than they have been. Considering it’s been primarily American economic innovation and American military prowess keeping the civilized world both safe and prosperous, it doesn’t seem like a whole lot to ask…
~ Liberty Planet
