Flaky Trudeau 'humiliated' Japan, Vietnam, Australia

[Argus]

Former Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull has written an autobiography, and in it he talks about how Trudeau suddenly backed out of the TPP deal at the last minute, while all the other leaders were waiting for a photo op. It certainly makes a mockery of Trudeau's braggging that 'Canada's back!" on the international scene, and goes some distance to explaining why Canada really doesn't have much in the way of friends anymore.

Former Australian prime minster Malcolm Turnbull has accused Justin Trudeau of “humiliating” other world leaders during negotiations for a revamped Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal in 2017.

In a just published autobiography, Turnbull said he personally felt let down by Trudeau and upbraided him for embarrassing other world leaders when he failed to show up for a critical meeting.

Turnbull said he was scheduled, by coincidence, to meet with Trudeau after the no-show and the Canadian prime minister seemed more interesting in talking about his socks than the previous meeting.

“Justin always wore perfectly tailored suits that fitted like a glove, bright socks and on this occasion two-tone shoes,” wrote Turnbull. “‘What do you think of the socks?’ he asked, crossing his legs as he sat down. ‘Justin,’ I said, ‘we’re not here to talk about your socks’.”

https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/worried-about-offending-trump-flaky-trudeau-humiliated-fellow-leaders-during-tpp-trade-talks-former-aussie-pm

[Moonlight Graham]

Love the virtue signalling he made the countries to do.  "Progressive" Agreement?  Lol what? :

Even more annoying for the other leaders was they felt they had “bent over backwards” for Canada during the negotiations, allowing for the clunky new name requested by the Canadian delegation, among other things.

...Less than a week later, Trudeau told the World Economic Forum in Davos that Canada was back in TPP-11, although he made sure to call it the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Edited April 21, 2020 by Moonlight Graham

[SpankyMcFarland]

There are certain realities about being a North American country other than the US that the former Australian PM doesn’t seem to have fully taken on board. I hope Turnbull mocked Trump at least as much for it was he who scuttled Canada’s involvement in that deal as it stood. 

[bush_cheney2004]

11 minutes ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

There are certain realities about being a North American country other than the US that the former Australian PM doesn’t seem to have fully taken on board. I hope Turnbull mocked Trump at least as much for it was he who scuttled Canada’s involvement in that deal as it stood. 

 

Doesn't matter.....Justin Trudeau has proven himself to be a flake in other ways and at other times.

[Benz]

2 hours ago, Argus said:

 ‘Justin,’ I said, ‘we’re not here to talk about your socks’.”

What a polite man. We can easily guess that in his mind, it rather sounds like "we're not here to talk about how much you s*ck".

[SpankyMcFarland]

8 minutes ago, Benz said:

What a polite man. We can easily guess that in his mind, it rather sounds like "we're not here to talk about how much you s*ck".

But it’s a lame example. No Canadian PM would have signed up for TPP once the Yanks withdrew. 

[QuebecOverCanada]

This is hilarious, and quite sad at the same time. But surprising? Not at all.

[Argus]

6 hours ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

But it’s a lame example. No Canadian PM would have signed up for TPP once the Yanks withdrew. 

Why? And we did sign it.

[Moonbox]

On 4/21/2020 at 9:21 PM, Argus said:

Why? And we did sign it.

because our being in the TPP complicates more important trade agreements with the USA.  If we're importing cheap components from Vietnam and China and assembling it here for less than the Americans can, that becomes a thorn for our bi-lateral trade.  

[Argus]

2 hours ago, Moonbox said:

because our being in the TPP complicates more important trade agreements with the USA.  If we're importing cheap components from Vietnam and China and assembling it here for less than the Americans can, that becomes a thorn for our bi-lateral trade.  

Our being in the TPP wasn't opposed by the Americans. I suspect Trudeau did it to please China. The TPP was aimed at them, not the Americans, aimed at offsetting their growing trading power. Right after Trudeau did this he went to China, expecting to be rewarded by the start of negotiations for a free trade deal. Instead the Chinese laughed in his face and send him packing because they didn't like his virtue-signalling.

[SpankyMcFarland]

We were fortunate to land both TPP-11 and the new NAFTA despite the belligerent noises made by Uzmuccaman stateside. It’s easy to pull out of trade deals, much harder to put them together. If the US had signed TPP,  it could have gone on to coordinate with the EU and be in a much stronger position to lead the world in laying down red lines with China. 

Edited April 24, 2020 by SpankyMcFarland

[bush_cheney2004]

41 minutes ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

We were fortunate to land both TPP-11 and the new NAFTA despite the belligerent noises made by Uzmuccaman stateside. It’s easy to pull out of trade deals, much harder to put them together. If the US had signed TPP,  it could have gone on to coordinate with the EU and be in a much stronger position to lead the world in laying down red lines with China. 

 

Lead the world ?    Why didn't Canada do it ?

What Trump did do was "lead" Canada and Mexico to NAFTA 2.0.

[Argus]

1 hour ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

We were fortunate to land both TPP-11 and the new NAFTA despite the belligerent noises made by Uzmuccaman stateside. It’s easy to pull out of trade deals, much harder to put them together. If the US had signed TPP,  it could have gone on to coordinate with the EU and be in a much stronger position to lead the world in laying down red lines with China. 

The irony is that TPP was designed as an alternative trading block to China. The US had everything to gain by pushing it and joining it. Not only would it be economically helpful but it would help diminish China's power, influence and wealth.

[bush_cheney2004]

20 minutes ago, Argus said:

The irony is that TPP was designed as an alternative trading block to China. The US had everything to gain by pushing it and joining it. Not only would it be economically helpful but it would help diminish China's power, influence and wealth.

 

TPP had zero chance of passing in the U.S. Congress, and Obama gave up trying to convince even members of his own party.

Being so dependent on the U.S. market and decisions means living with the results..."elections have consequences".

 

[WestCanMan]

This is so typiaclly Trudeau that it's just another sad indication of how stupid Canadians are. 

We're lucky that we live beside the US because anyone else would have taken us over by now. 

[Benz]

On ‎4‎/‎25‎/‎2020 at 2:49 PM, WestCanMan said:

This is so typiaclly Trudeau that it's just another sad indication of how stupid Canadians are. 

We're lucky that we live beside the US because anyone else would have taken us over by now. 

If you were feeling the urge to conquer a land, would you conquer and handle people loving Trudeau? I wouldn't touch such land not even with a 20 feet pole.

[WestCanMan]

48 minutes ago, Benz said:

If you were feeling the urge to conquer a land, would you conquer and handle people loving Trudeau? I wouldn't touch such land not even with a 20 feet pole.

Lol, good point, but Canadians are pretty easy to lead around by the nose. You could probably convince a few million to work as slaves, just tell them that it makes them morally superior to non-slaves.

[Zeitgeist]

On 4/24/2020 at 4:41 PM, bush_cheney2004 said:

 

Lead the world ?    Why didn't Canada do it ?

What Trump did do was "lead" Canada and Mexico to NAFTA 2.0.

Freeland’s team did a lot of heavy lifting on that deal.  Don’t kid yourself.  The $14.00 minimum wage for Mexican auto manufacturing was important.  Trump tried to make the deal one-sided.  He won a few concessions, but the main improvement to the deal is the requirements for higher standards in Mexico, which creates a more level trade playing field.  Canada played a key role in drafting that.  

[Zeitgeist]

On 4/25/2020 at 2:49 PM, WestCanMan said:

This is so typiaclly Trudeau that it's just another sad indication of how stupid Canadians are. 

We're lucky that we live beside the US because anyone else would have taken us over by now. 

Those comments reveal your ignorance on why Trudeau delayed the deal but still wanted to retain it.  The US , as always, worried about being locked into rules and wanted to control the trade agenda in its favour.  TPP is an important protection for Canada against the strong-arming of the US and China.  The smartest deals Canada has made to hedge against US and Chinese self-interest and unpredictability are CETA, TPP, and other deals with countries like Chile.  It makes Canada more resilient in finding alternative suppliers and markets.

[bush_cheney2004]

5 minutes ago, Zeitgeist said:

Freeland’s team did a lot of heavy lifting on that deal.  Don’t kid yourself.  The $14.00 minimum wage for Mexican auto manufacturing was important.  Trump tried to make the deal one-sided.  He won a few concessions, but the main improvement to the deal is the requirements for higher standards in Mexico, which creates a more level trade playing field.  Canada played a key role in drafting that.  

 

You are missing the larger point.....no Trump...no NAFTA 2.0.

Canada and Freeland did not lead the initial decision to change NAFTA.

[Zeitgeist]

4 minutes ago, bush_cheney2004 said:

 

You are missing the larger point.....no Trump...no NAFTA 2.0.

Canada and Freeland did not lead the initial decision to change NAFTA.

Trump only used destruction.  He didn’t do much discernible work to improve it.  He won some concessions on dairy and other items.  The big concern with NAFTA was Mexico and races to the bottom that lower all living standards.  Canada has become pretty astute at writing these deals, having come off major work on other deals prior to USMCA.  Chrétien really got the ball rolling on expanding trade deals.  

Edited April 29, 2020 by Zeitgeist

[WestCanMan]

3 minutes ago, Zeitgeist said:

Those comments reveal your ignorance on why Trudeau delayed the deal but still wanted to retain it.  The US , as always, worried about being locked into rules and wanted to control the trade agenda in its favour.  TPP is an important protection for Canada against the strong-arming of the US and China.  The smartest deals Canada has made to hedge against US and Chinese self-interest and unpredictability are CETA, TPP, and other deals with countries like Chile.  It makes Canada more resilient in finding alternative suppliers and markets.

Delaying something and then signing it later is always a great strategy - it makes it seem like you're really important and powerful. If you've recently bought off the media they will play it up just the way you like it.

I'm sure that Trudeau really stuck it to the US just like he did to returning islamic state terrorists, just like he carried the fight against islamic state when he took over being PM in 2015, just like he fought for Alberta jobs, just like he fought to get drinking water to our indigenous population, just like he fought the indigenous suicide epidemic, just like he helped the veterans who were asking for more than our government can give, just like he fought covid by waiting until March 16th and lulling the virus into believing that we would never do anything at all, just like's fighting to get to the bottom of the WHO's devastating advice. He's a [paper] tiger.

[bush_cheney2004]

Just now, Zeitgeist said:

Trump only used destruction.  He didn’t do much discernible work to improve it.  He won some concessions on dairy and other items.  The big concern with NAFTA was Mexico and races to the bottom that lower all living standards.  Canada has become pretty astute at writing these deals, having come off major work on other deals prior to USMCA.  Chrétien really got the ball rolling on expanding trade deals.  

 

But not on NAFTA...it was Trump and Lighthizer that started the changes as promised before the U.S. election.  Freeland and Canada had to react to the new American administration.   Trudeau did not lead or trigger the renegotiation of NAFTA, which his Liberal party actually hated to begin with...now they love it.

 

[Zeitgeist]

5 minutes ago, WestCanMan said:

Delaying something and then signing it later is always a great strategy - it makes it seem like you're really important and powerful. If you've recently bought off the media they will play it up just the way you like it.

I'm sure that Trudeau really stuck it to the US just like he did to returning islamic state terrorists, just like he carried the fight against islamic state when he took over being PM in 2015, just like he fought for Alberta jobs, just like he fought to get drinking water to our indigenous population, just like he fought the indigenous suicide epidemic, just like he helped the veterans who were asking for more than our government can give, just like he fought covid by waiting until March 16th and lulling the virus into believing that we would never do anything at all, just like's fighting to get to the bottom of the WHO's devastating advice. He's a [paper] tiger.

The delay happened because, as always, the US put pressure on Canada not to sign because of anti-TPP movement in the US.  It’s the same for Huawei 5G.  Canada is being pressured not to sign on because of “security concerns “.   Wuhei took Canada’s telecom tech years ago after the breakup of Nortel.  Now Canada must weigh productivity gains against security concerns.  Interesting that Canada is being pushed to fall in line with the US yet Britain permitted Huawei 5G.  As always, Canadian self-determination is a fine balance.  

[Zeitgeist]

4 minutes ago, bush_cheney2004 said:

 

But not on NAFTA...it was Trump and Lighthizer that started the changes as promised before the U.S. election.  Freeland and Canada had to react to the new American administration.   Trudeau did not lead or trigger the renegotiation of NAFTA, which his Liberal party actually hated to begin with...now they love it.

 

Not really.  Trump whined about NAFTA and team Trudeau did careful work in writing a smarter deal.  Typical.