Italy’s Conte wants G8 with Russia, not quick end to sanctions

The G7 summit in Canada has ended in the escalation of a row over trade with US President Donald Trump withdrawing support for a communique, citing “false statements” by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau also said that Canada will not agree to a “sunset clause” in negotiations for NAFTA. Later, the document was made public.

In response, Trudeau’s office said the prime minister had “said nothing he hasn’t said before – both in public, and in private conversations with the president” while an European Union official told dpa the bloc would “stick to the communique as agreed by all participants”.

At what a French presidential official described as one “extraordinary” session on Friday, leaders who had vowed to confront Trump over his decision to impose tariffs on US allies last week as part of his “America First” agenda, showered Trump with data one after the other.

France and Germany have criticized President Donald Trump for threatening to pull the United States out of a joint statement with key G7 allies.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sharply criticised Trump’s tariffs and promised Canada would answer with its own on July 1 unless the United States reversed course.

He told the G7 leaders during the summit that the USA wanted a quick end to trade practices that he said have led to an exodus of American companies and jobs to other countries.

Mr Trump plans to leave the summit mid-morning on Saturday, four hours earlier than originally planned, to fly to Singapore ahead of his historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The tweets will be a serious and completely unexpected blow to the French president Emanuel Macron and the German chancellor Angela Merkel, who believed a deal to smooth over tensins on US-European trade had been agreed.

During the talks in Quebec, Trump surprised G-7 leaders by proposing an end to all tariffs and trade barriers.

Such a move could make it almost impossible to renegotiate the terms of the 1994 NAFTA pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

It was part of a broader approach by foreign leaders to the second G7 meeting of Trump’s presidency.

“If they retaliate, they’re making a mistake”, Trump told reporters in a short but stern remark. “That is not a trade deal”, he said, according to a report by ABC News.

“We win that war a thousand times out of a thousand”, Trump said.

He also resumes his criticism against Canada for unfairly charging tariffs on dairy products heading to the United States.

Leaders of the G7 nations on Saturday papered over the cracks in their alliance at a summit in Canada but came away with little more than an agreement to disagree on trade, as Trump defiantly brandished his “America First” agenda. “Or we’ll stop trading with them”. “I did suggest it and people were – I guess they’re going to go back to the drawing board and check it out”.

“It’s a lucky number”, Donald Tusk said shortly before the start of the G7 summit here.

The president also referred to Trudeau’s “false statements”, which he didn’t explain.

It’s a startling attack on the leader of the US neighbor and ally.