LA MALBAIE, Quebec (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday floated an idea to set up a mechanism to resolve trade differences with the United States and prevent future ones, a French official said as consensus appeared to elude G7 leaders at a summit in Canada.
But expectations for any breakthroughs at the two-day Group of Seven meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, are low. “It’s highly unlikely there will be a final communique,” a G7 official said on condition of anonymity.
Washington’s trading partners are angry about U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision last week to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, the European Union and Mexico. The U.S. move has prompted retaliation by some countries.
Europe, Canada and Japan are largely united in opposition to Trump’s protectionism while trying to find ways to bridge the divide and avoid rupturing the G7, which in its 42-year history has tended to seek consensus on economic and other issues.
The official described Merkel’s suggestion as a “shared assessment and dialogue” mechanism, but gave no further details.
Merkel’s proposal was strongly supported by other leaders at the meeting, the official said, adding that European Commission President Juncker said he was ready to invest personally in it.
Canada, the summit host and the nation that has borne much of the brunt of Trump’s trade fusillades in recent days, is holding out hope that progress can be made on less controversial issues such as gender equality and economic growth.
Asked whether Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s team was engaged in frantic damage control, a Canadian government official said it was always clear there would be disagreements at the summit over trade and relations with Russia.
Trump set the tone before leaving Washington on Friday.
