Yahoo – AFP,
July 4, 2017
Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, left, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Farmleigh, Ireland's state guest house, in Dublin (AFP Photo/Paul FAITH) |
Dublin
(AFP) - Britain and the United States are "turning inward," Canada's
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference with his Irish
counterpart on Tuesday in which both leaders took swipes at their heavyweight
neighbours.
Trudeau
also said during a visit to Dublin that there were "clear
disagreements" with the United States ahead of the G20 summit this week,
where US President Donald Trump is expected to attend.
"The
choices made by the United States on trade and climate change are at odds with
the majority of G20 countries, or even all the other G20 countries," he
said after talks with Ireland's Leo Varadkar.
Trudeau
predicted that there would be "robust and honest exchanges about how to
serve not only our citizens but the whole planet" at the summit, while
adding that such meetings were also a chance to try to find "common
ground".
The United
States and Canada are locked in a trade dispute, with the US accusing Canada of
exporting its products at unfairly low "dumping" prices.
Canada is
also a major supporter of the Paris Agreement to combat global warming, which
Trump has said he wants to pull out of.
Both
leaders issued thinly veiled criticism of their neighbours' politics.
"There
are tremendous opportunities for countries like Canada and Ireland, at a time
where perhaps our significant allies and trading partners in the case of both
the US and the UK are turning inward or at least turning into a different
direction," Trudeau said.
The
sentiment was echoed by Varadkar, who reiterated his country's commitment to
the European Union as it prepares for Britain's exit from the bloc.
"We
each share a relationship with a very big neighbour, a neighbour that has to a
certain extent decided to go in a different direction at least for the time
being," he said.
Varadkar
said that "unfortunately" Britain had chosen to leave the European
Union and would not be able to negotiate free-trade agreements like the one
between Canada and the EU until it has officially left.
"I
can't see a scenario where Britain could remain a member of the EU, even in
transitional period, and then negotiate other trade deals on their own".
Varadkar,
the son of an Indian migrant and Ireland's first openly gay prime minister,
said he and Trudeau had discussed a wide range of issues, including the
benefits of immigration and diversity.
"Both
countries and both governments are committed to multilateralism as the best
means by which we can solve the world's problems," Varadkar said.
#Canada PM @JustinTrudeau takes swipe at 'inward looking' US and UK during visit to Ireland https://t.co/83fPPQ3hU4 pic.twitter.com/Jh4r69fegV— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 4, 2017
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