Allies race to clinch G7 face-saver before Trump's early exit
AFP / SAUL LOEBDonald Trump left the summit for Singapore and his historic nuclear summit with Kim Jong Un in much the same position as he had come in -- alone in the face of the six other G7 members working together to defend multilateral trade rules
President Donald Trump quit the G7 summit in Quebec early Saturday having made no concessions to his allies' anger at his imposition of tariffs designed, in his eyes, to rebalance world trade.
In fact, the US leader instead boasted he had made progress in convincing his counterparts from the world's richest democracies of the need to change the rules of the game in America's favor.
Trump left the summit for Singapore and his historic nuclear summit with Kim Jong Un in much the same position as he had come in -- alone in the face of the six other G7 members working together to defend multilateral trade rules.
An official from French President Emmanuel Macron's office said there was still hope a joint communique would be signed, with Washington opting out of clauses on climate and the environment, but that US negotiators are opposing language on strengthening international trade oversight.
The French side still expect the text to signal support for "rules-based" multilateral cooperation rather than for Trump's preference for bilateral deals with American partners designed to reduce US trade deficits.
AFP / SAUL LOEBAt the G7 summit (L-R): EU president Donald Tusk, Britain's Theresa May, Germany's Angela Merkel, Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, France's Emmanuel Macron, Japan's Shinzo Abe, Italy's Giuseppe Conte, and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker
Trump was upbeat, however, arguing that he could tell from the smiles of European leaders around the table that they knew that "the gig is up" and that they would be obliged to negotiate terms with Washington.
"They can't believe they got away with it," he declared, repeating his mantra that G7 members have been taking advantage of the naivety of his predecessors for decades.
"We want and expect other nations to provide fair market access to American exports and ... we will take whatever steps are necessary to protect industry and workers from unfair practices, of which there are many.
"But we're getting them worked out, slowly but surely."
The text of the annual G7 joint communique is usually all but final before the leaders meet for two days of glad-handing and group photo opportunities, but this year officials were negotiating even as Trump headed for his plane.
If the G7 fails to agree a final communique -- or if it is watered down too far for the sake of appeasing the "America First" economic agenda -- Canada's G7 will be remembered mainly for fierce disagreements over Trump's tariffs and his surprise request to return Russia to the fold.
While diplomats wrangled in private, summit host Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gathered the other leaders for a breakfast session on women's equality.
Trump arrived 17 minutes after the planned 8:00am start time and after Trudeau's opening remarks. He was seated next to a luminary of the multilateral system, IMF director Christine Lagarde.
Even before he flew out of Washington on Friday to hook up with the rest of the group, Trump managed to rile his counterparts by declaring that it was time that Russia be brought back into the G7. The idea was swiftly shot down.
AFP / John SAEKIG7 countries
With his wife Melania back home in Washington, Trump cut a lonely figure on arrival at the golf resort in rural Quebec as he posed with his host Trudeau and his wife Sophie and other first couples.
He was then confronted with a litany of complaints over his decision to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum when the leaders held roundtable talks chaired by Trudeau.
A member of Macron's team characterized the talks as "frank and robust," with Trump first repeating his lengthy diatribe about what he regards as unfair trade restrictions -- before the Europeans responded with facts and figures they felt would blunt his argument.
- Quest for a joint statement -
Trudeau told Trump that it was "unacceptable" to cite national security when targeting a military ally like Canada with tariffs.
"The Prime Minister pressed the President to reconsider the US tariffs imposed on Canadian steel and aluminum, and encouraged him to work with Canada to address unfair trade," Trudeau's office said.
The summit was wrapping up just as Chinese President Xi Jinping begins hosting the leaders of Russia and Iran at a two-day regional security meeting in a symbol of the power-play between East and West.
'One time shot' for peace with North Korea: Trump
AFP / Lars HagbergDonald Trump told reporters that contacts between the US and North Korean negotiators had been positive in the build-up to the historic meeting with Kim Jong Un
US President Donald Trump said his summit with North Korea represented "a one-time" chance to forge peace and that he would know within a minute if his counterpart Kim Jong Un was a serious partner.
Speaking shortly before beginning his long journey to Singapore, Trump told reporters that contacts between the US and North Korean negotiators had been positive in the build-up to Tuesday's historic meeting and talked up its prospects of success.
"It's unknown territory in the truest sense but I really feel confident," Trump said as he prepared to leave the ongoing G7 summit in Canada early and head to Asia.
"I feel that Kim Jong Un wants to do something great for his people and he has that opportunity... It's a one-time shot," he said at a press conference, adding that the North Koreans had been working "very well with us" ahead of the summit.
Trump and Kim are due to have the first ever US-North Korea summit in Singapore on Tuesday, with the American leader hoping his counterpart will scrap his nuclear weapons program in return for security guarantees.
The US president is the first of the G7 leaders to leave the summit in Canada where he has briefed his peers on the meeting.
"I am on a mission of peace and we're going to be carrying the hearts of millions of people from all," he said.
"We have to get denuclearization, we have to get something going."
Asked how long it would take for him to work out if Kim was serious about striking some kind of peace deal, Trump replied: "I think within the first minute I'll know.
"I think I'll know pretty quickly whether or not, in my opinion, something positive will happen. And if I think it won't happen, I'm not going to waste my time. I don't want to waste his time."
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