Canadian PM Trudeau to skip trade summit at the White House due to tariff threat, coronavirus concerns

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be skipping the White House meeting, which will commemorate the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), due to meeting commitments.
• Trudeau said during last Friday’s press conference that he won’t be able to join given the pandemic threat as well as the tariff threats from the US.
• According to the AP, US President Donald Trump and Mexican President Andes Manuel Lopez Obrador are set to meet on Wednesday for the USMCA.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada bypassed a White House invitation to commemorate the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) this coming Wednesday in Washington DC.

According to Trudeau’s spokesperson Chantal Gagnon, “the prime minister will be in Ottawa this week for scheduled Cabinet meetings and the long-planned sitting of Parliament.”

In case, the Prime Minister’s presence in the USMCA will hinder him from participating in the Parliament because of the Canadian regulation that requires all Canadians returning from abroad to quarantine for 14 days upon return, a senior White House official told the Associated Press.

While Trudeau won’t be able to join the agreement celebration, Gagnon said that the event “is good for Canada, the United States and Mexico. It will help ensure that North America emerges stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

During the coronavirus pandemic, the prime minister has been busy spearheading all Cabinet meetings through video chats. He was quarantined at one point when his wife contracted the disease.

As reported by the AP, US President Donald Trump and Mexican President Andes Manuel Lopez Obrador are set to meet at the White House to witness the USMCA taking effect. Trudeau has then requested to speak with Trump by phone call. Lopez Obrador also said that he will speak with the prime minister by phone. 

Further, Trudeau said on Friday during a press conference that he would unlikely join the meeting given the ongoing virus outbreak and tariff threats from the US.

“We’re obviously concerned about the proposed issue of tariffs on aluminum and steel that the Americans have floated recently. We’re also concerned about the health situation and the coronavirus reality that is still hitting all three of our countries,” he said.

Source: The Hill