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Major economies of world unite in opposition to Trump’s policies
Police struggle to control thousands of violent protesters in Hamburg, Germany, site of the G-20 summit.
HAMBURG, Germany — The growing international isolation of the United States under President Donald Trump was starkly apparent Friday as the leaders of major world economies mounted a nearly united opposition front against Washington on issues ranging from climate to free trade.
At a gathering of the Group of 20 world economic powers — normally a venue for drab displays of international comity — there were tough clashes with the United States and even talk of a possible transatlantic trade war.
The tensions were a measure of Trump’s sharp break with previous U.S. policies. They were also a warning signal of Washington’s diminished clout, as the leaders of the other nations who gathered in Hamburg mulled whether to fix their signatures to statements that would exclude Trump or to find some sort of compromise. Two European officials said they were leaning toward a united front against Washington.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who faced the difficult job of bridging the differences, made little attempt to paper over the disagreements after the first day of meetings.
“The discussions are very difficult,” she said. “I don’t want to talk around that.”
Deep divisions
She described the view of most participants that “we need free but also fair trade,” a rejection of Trump’s skepticism about the value of sweeping freetrade agreements.
And she predicted the lower-level officials charged with negotiating a final statement deep into the night “had a lot of work ahead of them.”
Some of the clearest divides had to do with climate change after Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. from the Paris climate accord.
There were sharp warnings about U.S. steel policy as Trump mulls restrictions on imports.
Opening discussions earlier in the day, Merkel told fellow leaders that there are “millions of people following us with their concerns, their fears and their needs, who hope that we can make a contribution to solving the problems.”
“We all know the big global challenges, and we know that time is pressing,” she said. “So solutions can only be found if we are prepared to compromise … without, and I say this clearly, bending ourselves too much out of shape. We can of course also name differences.”
Agree on terrorism
The leaders did make a joint statement on fighting terrorism, an issue on which there are few differences. They called for ensuring that there are “no ‘safe spaces’ for terrorist financing anywhere in the world” and pledged to work with internet providers and app administrators to combat the web’s use for terror propaganda and financing.
Merkel noted the countries at the summit represent two-thirds of the world’s population, fourfifths of the globe’s gross domestic product and three-quarters of trade.
The G-20 is made up of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, France, Britain, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Mexico,
Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
Also attending are the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Guinea, Senegal, Singapore and Vietnam.
Merkel said the threat posed by North Korea’s missile tests was brought up at Friday’s meetings by the leaders of South Korea and other countries in the region, and all hoped “the U.N. Security Council will find an appropriate answer” to Pyongyang’s violation of U.N. resolutions.