LA MALBAIE, Quebec (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at Canada and the European Union on Friday, setting the tone for a hostile Group of Seven summit and raising the specter of a trade war that has unnerved Washington’s top allies as well as investors.
The confrontation over U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports threatened to rupture the G7, which during its 42-year history has traditionally sought to find consensus on the economy and other issues.
Trump, who aides said has scant interest in multilateralism, resumed his tirade against G7 members and their “unfair trade practices” early on Friday. The White House said he would leave the two-day summit in Canada four hours earlier than originally planned.
The U.S. leader will miss talks about climate change and clean energy, and will have left Canada by the time Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other leaders begin closing news conferences likely to be laden with criticism of Washington’s trade policy.
“We’re going to deal with the unfair trade practices. If you look at what Canada, and Mexico, the European Union - all of them - have been doing to us for many, many decades. We have to change it. And they understand it’s going to happen,” Trump said before departing for the summit in La Malbaie, Quebec.
“We are going to do very well. Now, if we’re unable to make a deal we’ll terminate NAFTA, we’ll have a better deal,” Trump said, adding that the United States would be better off without trade pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Canada and Mexico, the other members of NAFTA, have been frustrated by what they see as unacceptable U.S. demands in slow-moving talks to modernize the deal.
Trump also said
