Trump odd man out at awkward G-20 Summit

The G-20 consists of 19 of the strongest economies in the world, plus the European Union.

At annual meetings, the chief executives of each member nation participate in top-level discussions on issues such as foreign policy, trade, climate change and immigration. The goal is to have frank discussions in order to create social and economic stability throughout the world.

Collectively, the G-20 nations account for nearly two-thirds of the world’s population, 75 percent of world trade and 80 percent of total world gross domestic product.

This year’s G-20 Summit was held in Hamburg, Germany, on July 6-7. Watching coverage of this meeting, several impressions came to mind. Other than the brief visit President Donald Trump made to Poland before the G-20 Summit began, where he was greeted cordially by the Polish government and right-leaning Polish crowds, he looked awkward and out of place at G-20 events.

His G-20 participation was already made tense by statements issued by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who defended her previous comments made after Trump’s May visit to Europe during the G-7 summit in Italy, when she said: “The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days. And so, all I can say is that we Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands.”

Before the G-20 Summit, Merkel said, “These will not be easy talks. The differences are obvious and it would be wrong to pretend they aren’t there. I simply won’t do this.” These statements proved to be a harbinger of what occurred in Hamburg.

Most of the G-20 leaders lined up against U.S. isolationism in terms of its having pulled out of the Paris climate agreement, and its pushback on expanding global trade and trade agreements. In the G-20’s final communiqué that it issues at the end of each summit, overseen his time by host Germany and Merkel, wiggle room was made for the U.S. on trade.

While members affirmed their commitment to push for open markets, it added language to accommodate Trump by stating it would “also strive to ensure a level playing field.”

While in deference to Trump’s rhetoric on trade agreements, this added statement was superfluous in the sense that every signatory to a free trade agreement strives to protect its interests during negotiations.

On climate change, the final communiqué was not so gentle to the U.S. by stating, “We take note of the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from the Paris agreement — the leaders of the other G-20 members state that the Paris agreement is irreversible.” It was this passage from the 19 partners of the U.S. in the G-20 that made the U.S. isolationism so clear and striking. Even the U.K. and France, traditionally two of the U.S.’ closest partners, weighed in on U.S. stances.

At the end of the summit, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May commented that she was “dismayed at the U.S. decision to pull out” of the accord. She told reporters that she had personally spoken to Trump to ask him to reconsider his stance. She also went on record to state, “I was very clear I want global Britain to be one of the great advocates for free trade around the world.”

When discussing how integrated world trade has become, and how nations must fight against isolationism, French President Emmanuel Macron dramatically pulled his cellphone out of his pocket, held it up for all to see, and stated that it was a product made in China and bought