U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at Canada and the European Union on Friday and said he plans to leave a meeting with leaders of the Group of Seven nations early as fears of a trade war ratcheted higher.
The confrontation over U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum threatened to rupture the G7, which during its 43-year history has traditionally sought to find consensus on the economy and other issues.
Trump, who aides said has little interest in multilateralism, resumed his tirade against Canada and “unfair trade deals” with G7 countries early Friday morning. The White House said he would leave talks four hours earlier than originally planned.
By departing early, the U.S. leader will miss talks about climate change and clean energy, and be out of the country by the time Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other leaders begin closing news conferences likely to be laden with criticism of U.S. trade policy...
Officials conceded the mood will likely be exceptionally tense...
This is excerpted from 7 June 2018 edition of Reuters Canada.