Canada parliament condemns Trump's attacks on Trudeau and tariffs
Canadian lawmakers unanimously voted to oppose the U.S.' "illegitimate tariffs" on Canadian steel and aluminum and condemned disparaging statements made by the Trump administration about Canada.
The motion, which Reuters noted was introduced by the opposition New Democrats, "rejects disparaging ad hominem statements by the U.S. Administration which do a disservice to bilateral relations and will fail to resolve this trade dispute."
Over the weekend, President Trump suddenly retracted his endorsement of the final joint statement by the G-7 summit of world leaders, tweeting afterward he had instructed representatives "not to endorse" it. He blamed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's statement afterward that Canada would not be "pushed around."
Trudeau, at a press conference at the end of the summit, had announced that Canada's retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. would go into effect July 1. He told reporters that he had informed Mr. Trump that "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."
Mr. Trump called Trudeau "very dishonest & weak" for his objections to the U.S. tariffs.
Others in the administration also chimed in. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told "Fox News Sunday, "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." (Navarro apologized for the remark Tuesday).
Mr. Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow had also suggested on "Face the Nation" that Mr. Trump saw Trudeau as trying to weaken his hand before his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying the president won't "allow the people to suddenly take pot shots at him."
