(Bloomberg) — Justin Trudeau is signalling he has scant leeway to cancel an arms contract with Saudi Arabia — condemning the death of Jamal Khashoggi while nonetheless saying it’s “very difficult” to cancel a deal and could cost $1 billion to do so. The Canadian leader said Monday he wouldn’t hesitate to suspend export permits, but on Tuesday went into more detail and said the government’s hands are somewhat tied by the legal agreement. London, Ontario-based General Dynamics Land Systems, a unit of U.S.-based General Dynamics Corp., manufactures armored vehicles under a contract with Saudi Arabia signed by the Canadian government in 2014. “There are very important questions about the entire relationship with Saudi Arabia that need to be asked,” she said, while declining to comment on arms contracts. Saudi Arabia fired back, freezing certain commercial ties, expelling Canada’s ambassador and recalling students from Canada.

Source: National Post October 23, 2018 14:48 UTC