The leaders warned on Wednesday against easy solutions peddled by “demagogues” who feed on economic anxiety, AP reported.
With tensions growing over terrorism and fallout from Britain’s exit from the European Union, Obama acknowledged that Americans and others have reason to be concerned about their own future in a rapidly globalizing economy. He said concerns about immigrants had been exploited by politicians in the past, but he insisted he wasn’t worried Americans will follow that path.
“We should take some of this seriously and answer it boldly and clearly,” Obama said, without naming the Republican presidential candidate. “But you shouldn’t think that is representative of how the American people think.”
Gathering in the Canadian capital, the leaders defended their calls for freer trade within the continent and beyond. They argued that instead of withdrawing from the world, advanced countries should focus on higher standards, wages and legal protections that would ensure the benefits of globalization are widely felt.
Obama’s comments at a news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto came as the leaders sought to show unity amid growing nationalist movements in Europe and elsewhere, epitomized by Britain’s move to leave the 28-member EU.
Though Britain’s decision has rattled the global financial system, Obama said he believed the markets were starting to settle down. Still, he acknowledged there would be “genuine longer-term concerns” about global economic growth “if, in fact, Brexit goes through.”
“This doesn’t help,” he said, the Associated Press reported.
Obama said his message to British Prime Minister David Cameron and to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is largely spearheading Europe’s response, was that “everybody should catch their breath.”