Trump pressures G-7 over trade

President tells group relationships must be ‘reciprocal’

USA TODAY

President Donald Trump urged world leaders to do more to fight terrorism and make changes in their trade policies during a high-profile summit Friday, while members of the Group of Seven tried to talk Trump into staying in a global agreement designed to address climate change.

During a daylong series of meetings among the world’s most industrialized nations, juggling thorny foreign policy challenges such as North Korea, Russia and Syria’s civil war, Trump made time to protest what he called unfair practices by other countries, including Germany.

National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn said Trump told fellow G-7 leaders he wants “reciprocal” trade relationships, which means: “You treat us the way we treat you, or we’ll treat you the way you treat us.”

White House aides also sought to walk back comments Trump made about Germany during a Wednesday meeting with European Union officials in Brussels.

The president described the Germans — also members of the G-7 — as “bad, very bad” on trade policy, especially with regard to car imports, which he promised to curtail.

“He said they’re very bad on trade, but he doesn’t have a problem with Germany,” Cohn said. The president and his team “have a problem with German trade.”

German papers such as Der Spiegel reported that Trump told European leadership: “Look at the millions of cars they’re selling in the U.S. Terrible. We will stop this.”

This appears to ignore the fact that the U.S. can’t negotiate a deal with Germany alone; it has to deal with the entire EU because Germany is a member state, which Chancellor Angela Merkel told Trump when they met in March.

G-7 summits are designed to let world leaders discuss mutual problems while in relaxed settings — in this case, the coast off the island of Sicily.

A welcoming ceremony took place at the ancient Greek Theater on a hilltop high above the sea. In the distance looms Mount Etna, an active volcano.

The festivities included a flyover featuring jets leaving behind large plumes of smoke in white, red and green — the colors of the Italian flag.

After the entire day of meetings, the Trump administration made only one specific announcement: It has no plans to reduce economic sanctions on Russia over its military aggressiveness in Ukraine. “We’re not lowering our sanctions on Russia,” Cohn said.