- Trump delivers a stern warning on trade to foreign countries at the G7 summit, advising trading partners not to retaliate against US tariffs
- Trump injected additional controversy by suggesting the G7 offer a seat at the table to Russia, which was ousted in 2014
LA MALBAIE, Canada: The Group of Seven leaders on Saturday failed to heal a tariff dispute that has pushed them to the brink of trade war, as Donald Trump quit their summit early warning Canada, Japan and Europe that 鈥渢he gig is up.鈥�
Trump had come to Quebec insisting on his long-standing claim that America has been exploited for too long by existing trade arrangements 鈥� and he was met by counterparts equally determined to protect the 鈥渞ules-based鈥� international system.
The US president left on Saturday for Singapore and a historic summit with North Korea鈥檚 Kim Jong Un, claiming he had made progress convincing the other G7 leaders that trade between their countries must be better balanced or halt altogether.
鈥淭he United States has been taken advantage of for decades and decades,鈥� Trump said at a press conference on the second day of the two-day summit.
鈥淚 guess they鈥檙e going to go back to the drawing board and check it out, right?鈥� he said, warning that if his fellow six leaders make good on their threats to take retaliatory measures, they could find themselves shut out of American markets.
European officials said Trump had opposed language in the draft final summit communique on the need to bolster the World Trade Organization and multilateral oversight of commerce, but that this commitment would survive.
鈥淔or us, it was important to have a commitment to rules-based trade,鈥� Germany鈥檚 Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
鈥淥n the issue of trade, we have been able to agree on important questions to us,鈥� she added, stressing that it was 鈥渋mportant to have a commitment to rules-based trade.鈥�
Merkel acknowledged, however, that major differences remained between the US and its partners in the group which includes the world鈥檚 seven most industrialized economies.
鈥淭his is not a detailed solution to our problems. The differences in opinion have not been taken off the table.鈥�
The German leader said there was 鈥渁 common conviction鈥� about the need for changes to the WTO, although it was not immediately clear if there would a clear call for reform in the final statement.
As the leaders met, Trump played a wild card, suggesting that rather than both sides boosting retaliatory tariffs 鈥� as he has just done on steel and aluminum 鈥� they could declare for entirely free trade in the G7 zone.
鈥淣o tariffs, no barriers. That鈥檚 the way it should be. And no subsidies. I even said, 鈥榥o tariffs鈥�!鈥� Trump insisted. 鈥淭hat would be the ultimate thing, whether or not that works, but I did suggest it.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 utopian idea was greeted with skepticism 鈥� 鈥淕ood luck. That would be a leap into a very different world,鈥� declared one senior European official 鈥� with leaders pointing to the many regulations and non-tariff barriers that limit free trade.
French President Emmanuel Macron, for example, noted that under European Union rules France currently has open borders with Britain and Germany and runs trade deficits with both 鈥� far from Trump鈥檚 vision of 鈥渞eciprocal鈥� balanced trade.
European officials suggested that the upbeat, punchy news conference that Trump delivered before skipping out on the summit was aimed at his trade-skeptic supporters back home, and did not reflect the results of the summit.
鈥淲e鈥檙e talking to all countries,鈥� he said, denouncing what he said were huge existing tariffs on US exports around the world. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to stop. Or we鈥檒l stop trading with them. And that鈥檚 a very profitable answer, if we have to do it.
鈥淚f they retaliate, they鈥檙e making a mistake,鈥� he warned, insisting that the United States has much less to lose than its partners in the event of world trade breaking down. 鈥淲e will win that war 1,000 times.鈥�
The text of the annual G7 joint communique is usually all but finalized before the leaders meet for two days of glad-handing and group photo opportunities, but this year officials were still negotiating even as Trump headed for his plane.
Whatever the text eventually says, Canada鈥檚 summit will be remembered mainly for fierce disagreements over Trump鈥檚 tariffs and his surprise request to return Russia to the G7 fold, four years after its expulsion over the annexation of Crimea.
While diplomats wrangled in private, summit host Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gathered the other leaders for a breakfast session on women鈥檚 equality. Trump arrived 17 minutes after the planned 8:00am start time and after Trudeau鈥檚 opening remarks.
With his wife Melania back home in Washington, Trump cut a lonely figure on arrival at the golf resort in rural Quebec as he posed with his host Trudeau and his wife Sophie and other first couples.
A member of Macron鈥檚 team characterized the talks as 鈥渇rank and robust,鈥� with Trump first repeating his lengthy diatribe about what he regards as unfair trade restrictions 鈥� before the Europeans responded with facts and figures they felt would blunt his argument.
Trudeau told Trump that it was 鈥渦nacceptable鈥� to cite national security when targeting a military ally like Canada.
The summit was wrapping up just as Chinese President Xi Jinping begins hosting the leaders of Russia and Iran at a two-day regional security meeting in a symbol of the power-play between East and West.