Trump’s tariff turnaround shows he’s vulnerable to pressure, says former negotiator [Video]

Canada’s former top trade negotiator said Thursday that if nations around the world co-ordinate their responses to Donald Trump’s global trade war, the U.S. president would be more likely to back away from tariffs sooner.

Speaking on a trade panel at the left-leaning Broadbent Institute’s conference in Ottawa on Thursday, Steve Verheul said that Trump’s abrupt change of course this week shows his administration is vulnerable to financial and market pressures.

“I think retaliation can be a useful tool, and it’s unfortunate that most of the rest of the world didn’t see it that way,” Verheul said. “Because I think if there had been a more co-ordinated response from countries around the world, then we could have seen this fall away even more quickly.”

As U.S. stocks dropped again Thursday, continuing a tumultuous week in the markets, Trump said he thinks “we’re in very good shape.”

“We think we are …