Leaders brace for bumpy G7 talks amid tariffs row
QUEBEC CITY — Leaders of the G7 rich nations are set to clash with a combative US President Donald Trump on Friday when they pressure him to lift sanctions on steel and aluminum they fear could lead to a trade war.
The confrontation threatens to rupture a body that during its 43-year history has traditionally sought to find consensus on the economy and other issues.
Trump, who aides said has little interest in multilateralism, twice attacked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Twitter on Thursday and officials concede the mood is likely to be exceptionally tense.
“There will be some serious disagreements on a lot of things,” a Canadian official told reporters late on Thursday.
Although Trump said the tariffs are necessary to protect US industry, Canada and the European Union have denounced them as illegal and are preparing retaliatory measures.
As Trump prepared to depart Washington, his aides touted that as a success, hailing what they called “500 days of winning on the world stage”.
“President Trump has ended decades of talk and restored the credibility of America’s word on the international stage,” the White House said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that leaders needed to be civil at the summit but he is clearly losing patience with the US president, suggesting the other six members of the G7 could form their own grouping if necessary.
British Prime Minister Theresa May took a more measured tone, telling reporters she wanted the European Union to use restraint in its retaliation to the US tariffs and that the response must be proportionate and legal.
Trump showed no sign of backing down on Thursday, first taking to Twitter to accuse both France and Canada of imposing massive tariffs on US goods and then accusing Trudeau of “being so indignant”.
In response, the Canadian official replied that “the prime minister and the president have very frank, direct, candid,
It appears our partners thought that this would never affect them, this counterproductive politics of restrictions and sanctions. But now we are seeing that this is happening.” Vladimir Putin,
honest conversations”.
Trudeau and Trump are due to meet on Friday “and they will have lots to talk about”, the official added.
‘Nobody listened’
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he had warned European countries years ago about the risk of the US imposing its rules on others, and that they were now paying the price for ignoring him.
Speaking during an annual live television phone-in with the Russian people, Putin likened the tariffs that Washington imposed last week on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union to economic sanctions.
“It appears our partners thought that this would never affect them, this counterproductive politics of restrictions and sanctions. But now we are seeing that this is happening.”
The president said he had warned in a speech in Munich in 2007 about a growing US sense of exceptionalism and the risk of it imposing its own rules on other countries.
“That is exactly what is happening now. Nobody wanted to listen, and nobody did anything to stop this from developing. Well, there you go, you’ve been hit. Dinner is served ... please sit down and eat.”