The transatlantic alliance continues to burst at the seams as US President Donald Trump exhibits his unwillingness to make concessions to his European and Canadian allies. For its part, the EU is planning to impose retaliatory tariffs on the US, raising yet again the question of an EU army.
It seems that US President Donald Trump is not going to temporize with his European partners, which may deepen the rift between Washington and the EU during the G7 summit taking place in La Malbaie, Canada, on June 8-9.
On the eve of the meeting, the US president engaged in a Twitter spat with French President Emmanuel Macron and reportedly blindsided Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with a question in response to the latter's remark about US tariffs: “Didn't you guys burn down the White House?” citing the War of 1812.
Having arrived in Quebec, Trump has once again shown that he is not going to make it easier for the G7 participants.
“Looking forward to straightening out unfair Trade Deals with the G-7 countries. If it doesn't happen, we come out even better!” he tweeted.
The US president also bemoaned the fact that the summit had diminished in size:
“You know, whether you like it or — and it may not be politically correct — but we have a world to run and the G7, which used to be the G8, they threw Russia out, they should let Russia come back in because we should have Russia at the negotiating table,” he said.
The major bone of contention…
