Trudeau May Skip Trade Event With Trump Over COVID

Politico reports:

Justin Trudeau is pointing to the threat of fresh U.S. tariffs and the coronavirus pandemic as reasons why he might skip a meeting in Washington next week with President Donald Trump and Mexico’s Andrés Manuel López Obrador to mark the new continental trade deal.

The Canadian prime minister made the comments Friday when asked by a reporter about his invitation to meet with his North American counterparts to commemorate the trade pact, which came into force this week.

Trump and López Obrador are scheduled to meet on July 8-9. Trudeau appears prepared stay home from the USMCA celebration. “We’re still in discussions with the Americans about whether a trilateral summit next week makes sense,” Trudeau told a press conference near Ottawa.