At G7, it’s smiles and best face on issues

BIARRITZ, FRANCE — Justin Trudeau met face-to-face with U.S. President Donald Trump Sunday on the margins of the G7 summit in France for a discussion that covered trade, diplomacy and a bit of a lighter topic: basketball.

The new North American trade deal and China’s detention of two Canadians have been at the centre of conversations between Trudeau and Trump in recent weeks and were at the fore of the discussions Sunday, according to a report on the meeting sent by Trudeau’s office.

The mood between leaders at the annual get-together has repeatedly been described as tense, with a clear divide reported between Trump and the leaders of the other G7 countries — France, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan.

Trump has disputed any accounts of tension. He offered a small gesture of friendship to Canada Sunday, congratulating Trudeau on the Toronto Raptors winning the NBA Championships back in June, according to the statement from Trudeau’s office.

Prior to their meeting, the two men had sat for a photo and in brief remarks focused on their shared commitment to seeing the new North American trade deal enacted.

“There’s a lot of people wanting to make trade deals with each other and we have a deal that we were able to negotiate that is good for our workers, our citizens, good for the middle class,” Trudeau said.

So far only Mexico’s government has officially signed off on the accord.

But Trump insisted the deal he has dubbed the U.S. Mexico Canada Trade Agreement, or USMCA, has broad support in the United States and he is optimistic it will get the seal of approval from Congress.

“Our farmers love it, the unions love it, the workers love it, manufacturers love it, everybody likes it, I think most Democrats like it, so hopefully it’ll be put to a vote fairly soon,” he said.

Trump has tried to downplay concerns the meetings of the Group of Seven leaders are strained, saying in a tweet that the leaders are all “getting along very well,” and taking issue with some media reports indicating otherwise.

One point of contention appears to be Iran: French President Emmanuel Macron said the leaders agreed during Saturday’s dinner that France could serve as a G7 messenger to Iran. Trump denied agreeing to anything, and Macron was forced to play down his role and acknowledge Trump’s status as “the president of the world’s number one power.”

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif showed up unannounced and headed straight to the building where leaders were debating how to handle the country’s nuclear ambitions.