Trump barrels into G-7 summit, ready to fight U.S. allies
LA MALBAIE, Quebec— Bruising for a fight, President Donald Trump barreled into the Group of Seven summit Friday, eager to confront longtime U.S. allies over a burgeoning trade dispute and insisting Russia should be brought back into the fold.
Trump joined the leaders of major industrialized nations in an idyllic Canadian resort town after days of escalating conflict over new U.S. tariffs he slapped on imports of steel and aluminum. Facing pointed criticism from increasingly disillusioned allies, he punched back, uncowed by the growing global outcry.
“Look, all of these countries have been taking advantage of the United States on trade,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House, repeating his longstanding complaints about trade deficits and tariffs. He declared: “We have to straighten it out.”
However, he did seek to lower the temperature after his arrival, bantering easily during a one-on-one meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and joking that the neighboring leader had “agreed to cut all tariffs and all trade barriers.”
Still, the fundamental differences remained clear. Trump said he and Trudeau were talking trade and the U.S.-Canada-Mexico NAFTA accord could take a different form. Asked if Trudeau was upset he’d be leaving Canada early, Trump joked, “He’s happy.”
Before arriving at the meeting of the group, which some suggest Trump is pushing from the Group of Seven into “G-6 plus one,” he further stirred the pot by asking why Russia wasn’t included in the group.
“They should let Russia come back in because we should have Russia at the negotiating table,” he said.
Russia was ousted from the elite group in 2014 as punishment for President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. In the U.S., special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia in a bid to sway the 2016 presidential election in his favor.
Despite the tension, the president was greeted cordially by Trudeau as he arrived at the annual gathering, held this year at a picturesque Quebec resort. Other members of the Group of Seven are France, Italy, Japan, Germany and Britain. The European Union also attends.
Trump showed up late and will leave early on Saturday, heading to Singapore for his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He spent Friday participating in the rituals of the G-7, including the formal greeting by host Trudeau, a group photo in front of the sparkling St. Lawrence River and a working lunch of Arctic char and buckwheat salad.
Over the course of his presidency, Trump has inflamed allies with his isolationist policies, including withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate accord and the international Iran-nuclear agree- ment. Under Trump, the United States has abandoned its traditional role in the G-7 as an advocate for freer global trade, instead pushing more protectionist policies.
“The rules-based international order is being challenged, not by the usual suspects but by its main architect and guarantor: the United States,” said European Council President Donald Tusk.
Relations have hit such a low point that a key question now is whether the seven countries can agree on a joint statement of priorities at the conclusion of the meeting. French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday on Twitter, “The American President may not mind being isolated, but neither do we mind signing a 6 country agreement if need be.”
In the days leading up to the summit, Trudeau and Macron have severely criticized Trump’s new tariffs, which critics say threaten to drive up prices for American consumers and companies and heighten uncertainty for businesses and investors around the globe.
Macron and Trudeau both were expected to have formal meetings with Trump later in the day.
The French president did have some private time with Trump before the summit officially started. Macron tweeted a short video of the two together, saying: “Sharing, reaching out, always, to promote the inter- ests of the French people, and all those who believe in a world we can build together.”
Trump did not appear enthusiastic about the summit, complaining to aides about having to attend, particularly with his Singapore sit-down with Kim right around the corner. On Friday morning, he appeared in no hurry to leave for Canada, walking out of the White House more than half an hour late and taking questions from reporters for nearly 20 minutes.
To Trump’s suggestion that Russia be welcomed back to the group, allies had mixed responses.
In Paris, Macron’s office said it wouldn’t make sense and pointed out that the latest country to impose economic sanctions on Russia was the U.S. Italy’s new premier, Giuseppe Conte, tweeted that he agreed with Trump, saying: “Russia should go back into the G-8. In the interest of all.” Tusk was not convinced. “Let’s leave seven as it is,” Tusk said. “It’s a lucky number.”
Russia seemed unconcerned. State news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying, “We are putting the emphasis on other formats.”