Voice of America
25 Aug 2019, 19:05 GMT+10
SAINT-JEAN-DE-LUZ, FRANCE - U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau touted their trilateral trade agreement in their meeting at the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France.
"Quite frankly, around the table there's a lot of people wanting to make trade deals with each other," Trudeau said, adding that the U.S. and Canada have a deal that's "good for our workers, good for our citizens, good for the middle class."
Trump said that the two countries will be "significantly expanding" trade relations once the USMCA (U.S. - Mexico - Canada Agreement) is done.
Negotiations are final but the agreement has not yet been ratified by the U.S. Congress. The White House is pushing for an immediate ratification but Democrats and organized labor said certain provisions must first be improved.
The USMCA replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, which Trump at the meeting again called "the worst trade agreements ever done".
Trump added that the only thing worse than NAFTA is the World Trade Organization. "The WTO, that's a beauty." he said.
Climate change
Trudeau is pushing for action on climate change at the summit, in line with his Liberal government's agenda to highlight its achievement on this issue ahead of Canada's October election.
French President Emmanuel Macron, host of the summit has put climate issues high on the agenda for discussion, particularly focusing on the wildfires in the Amazon rainforest.
The leaders' focus on climate change have put them at odds with an American president known for his anti-climate stance. In June 2017, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Accord, a multilateral climate pact championed by the Obama administration.
The New York Times reported that senior Trump administration officials have accused Macron's aides of ignoring requests by White House officials to keep the focus on security and the threat of a recession, and emphasizing instead on climate change, gender equality, and African development, which highlight disagreements the Trump administration.
Get a daily dose of Tennessee Daily news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Tennessee Daily.
More InformationHONG KONG: China has fired back at the European Union in an escalating trade dispute by imposing new restrictions on medical device...
NEW YORK, New York - Monday's trading session saw mixed performances across U.S. and global markets, with several major indices posting...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. government has granted GE Aerospace permission to resume jet engine shipments to China's COMAC, a person...
DUBAI, U.A.E.: Saudi Aramco is exploring asset sales as part of a broader push to unlock capital, with gas-fired power plants among...
MILAN, Italy: Italian regulators have flagged four non-EU countries—including Russia—as carrying systemic financial risk for domestic...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: With just weeks to spare before a potential government default, U.S. lawmakers passed a sweeping tax and spending...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump claimed he was unaware that the term shylock is regarded as antisemitic when he used it in...
OMAHA, Nebraska: With Congress considering cuts totaling around US$1 trillion to Medicaid over the next decade, concerns are rising...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. government has granted GE Aerospace permission to resume jet engine shipments to China's COMAC, a person...
MILAN, Italy: Italian regulators have flagged four non-EU countries—including Russia—as carrying systemic financial risk for domestic...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump is drawing praise from his core supporters after halting key arms shipments to Ukraine, a...
MOSCOW, Russia: This week, Russia became the first country to officially recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan since...