Trump ploughs into G-7 summit meet
COURTS FRESH DRAMA WITH CALL TO RE-INSTATE RUSSIA
>> LA MALBAIE, QUEBEC: President Donald Trump charged into a summit of major industrialised nations yesterday for contentious trade talks, injecting fresh drama into an already tense meeting by calling for the reinstatement of Russia, which was ousted for its annexation of Crimea.
Mr Trump made the comment at the White House Friday after hours of further escalating his rhetoric against long-time allies over US trade practices.
“Why are we having a meeting without Russia in the meeting?’’ Trump asked. “They should let Russia come back in because we should have Russia at the negotiating table.’’
Solidifying his solo status on the world stage, Mr Trump also lashed out at longtime allies over their criticism of his trade policies. He arrived behind schedule and planned an early exit from the G-7 meeting.
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 US, special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia in a bid to sway the 2016 presidential election in his favour.
Trump saluted Canadian Mounties as he was greeted at an airport at a military base in Quebec. He arrived on Friday at the annual gathering, held this year at a picturesque Quebec resort, but was to leave the next morning before the event is over, heading to Singapore for his highly anticipated summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The White House announced his travel plans after French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signalled they would use the G-7 event to take a stance against new US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
At a joint press conference on Thursday, Mr Macron said: “A trade war doesn’t spare anyone. It will start first of all to hurt US workers.’’ Mr Trudeau, for his part, said Mr Trump’s action would hurt American workers as well as Canadians, adding he hoped to get Trump to realise it was “counterproductive.’’ As tempers frayed, Mr Trump had a ready retort, via tweet: “Please tell Prime Minister Trudeau and President Macron that they are charging the US massive tariffs and create non-monetary barriers. The EU trade surplus with the US is $151 Billion, and Canada keeps our farmers and others out. Look forward to seeing them tomorrow.’’
Despite the drama, Messrs Trump and Trudeau had a cordial greeting on Friday, shaking hands and smiling for photographers on the lawn outside the resort overlooking the St Lawrence River. The G-7 leaders were set to dine on Arctic char and
buckwheat salad at a working lunch.
Mr Trump also met briefly with Mr Macron before the meeting officially started. Mr Macron tweeted a short video of the two together, saying: “Sharing, reaching out, always, to promote the interests of the French people, and all those who believe in a world we can build together.’’
Mr Trump was to hold other group and one-on-one meetings Friday, including with Messrs Trudeau and Macron, but missed his scheduled Macron sit-down due to a delayed arrival. The White House called the earlier interaction a “brief pull aside’’ and said it expected an additional meeting later in the day. But the president appeared in no hurry to leave for Canada.
He walked out of the White House more than half an hour late, spent time greeting supporters gathered on the South Lawn, and then proceeded to take questions from reporters for nearly 20 minutes. He weighed in on everything from the Russia investigating to protesting NFL players and his next pardons.
With a cool reception all but assured, Mr Trump has complained to aides about even having to attend the G-7, especially since his Singapore summit with Kim is just days away. Leaving early the next day, he was to skip meetings about climate change, clean energy and ocean protection. This marks Mr Trump’s second summit of the G-7, an informal gathering every year under a
rotating chairmanship. The member countries are Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, the United States and Britain. The European Union also attends.
Under Trump, the United States has abandoned its traditional role in the G-7. His predecessors pressed for freer global trade and championed a trading system that required countries to follow World Trade Organisation rules. Mr Trump’s policies have been more protectionist and confrontational, driven by a perception that the US has been the victim of poorly conceived trade deals.
“The rules-based international order is being challenged, not by the usual suspects, but by its main architect and guarantor: the United States,’’ European Council President Donald Tusk said. Relations have hit such a low that a key question now is whether the seven countries can agree on a joint statement at the end of the meeting. A gathering of G-7 finance ministers days earlier concluded last week with a message of “concern and disappointment’’ about Mr Trump from the other six countries. France’s finance minister described the group as “far more a G-6 plus one than a G-7.’’
Mr 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 Paris, Mr Macron’s office said allowing Russia back into the group wouldn’t make sense and pointed out that the latest country to impose economic sanctions on Russia was the US.
Tension has been building over a year of policy-making that has distanced the US from traditional allies, including Mr Trump’s decisions to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord and the international Iran nuclear agreement. His new tariffs — 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum from Canada, Mexico and the European Union — threaten to drive up prices for American consumers and companies and heighten uncertainty for businesses and investors around the globe.
Canada and other US allies are retaliating with tariffs on US exports. Canada is waiting until the end of the month to apply them with the hope the Trump administration will reconsider.
Meanwhile, talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement that eliminated most tariffs and duties between the US, Canada and Mexico appear to have ground to a halt. Critics argue that the growing US isolation is risky at a time when Mr Trump is making diplomatic overtures with North Korea and in the Middle East and could use the support of allies.