Trump Says High Tariffs Will Fall 'or We're Not Going to Trade With Them'
President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to raise tariffs on longtime allies because, in his view, they have ripped off America. But at a post-G-7 press conference, he laid out the consequence if they don't drop their tariffs to the same level as the U.S. "It's going to change. They have no choice. If it's not going to change, we're not going to trade with them," he said. He listed Canada, the European Union -- which he called "brutal" -- and India as offenders that could be barred from exporting to the U.S.
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He said his relationship, on a scale of 1 to 10, is a 10 with "Angela and Emmanuel and Justin," referring to the leaders of Germany, France and Canada, respectively, by their first names. He said he didn't blame them for taking advantage of the U.S. in trade. "I congratulate the leaders of other countries for so crazily being able to make these trade deals that were so good for their country and so bad for the United States. But those days are over," he said. He also confirmed that in private, he suggested all the G-7 countries offer duty-free access to each other's markets. "That's the way it should be. No tariffs, no barriers," he said.
Of course, the trend is going in the opposite direction with the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum that hit all the other G-7 countries, and their lists of retaliatory tariffs on a variety of products. "If they retaliate, they're making a mistake," Trump told reporters at the press conference. "Because, you see, we have a tremendous trade imbalance. So when we try and bring our piece up a little bit so that it's not so bad, and then they go up -- right -- the difference is they do so much more business with us than we do with them that we can't lose that. You understand. We can't lose it. We win that war a thousand times out of a thousand."
After Trump left the summit, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a press conference on June 9, saying Canadians find insulting the argument that they deserve to pay tariffs on their aluminum and steel exports because of national security, since Canadians have fought alongside U.S. soldiers in many wars. "We move forward with retaliatory measures on July 1," he said. "It is not something we relish doing, but it is something we absolutely will do. Canadians, we're polite, we're reasonable, but we also will not be pushed around."
Trump reacted with fury on Twitter, writing: "PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, 'US Tariffs were kind of insulting' and he 'will not be pushed around.' Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy! Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our U.S. farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!"
France responded to Trump's decision to pull out of the G-7 communique, saying, "We spent two days to obtain a text and commitments. We will stand by them and anyone who would depart from them, once their back was turned, shows their incoherence and inconsistency. International cooperation cannot depend on fits of anger or little words." German Prime Minister Angela Merkel said Trump's actions at the G-7 were "sobering and a bit depressing."
Top economic officials were also dispatched on the Sunday talk shows, and Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Trudeau "stabbed us in the back," while Trump's director of trade and industrial policy Peter Navarro said "there's a special place in Hell" for him. Most Republicans in Congress were silent on Trump's performance at the G-7, though Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., praised Trump for bringing up the idea of lowering tariffs to zero in the G-7 while also criticizing him for "constant victim talk." Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., asked on Twitter, "What was the point of going to the G7, insulting our closest allies, and flying off without a deal?"