LA MALBAIE, Quebec (Reuters) - Leaders of the G7 nations on Saturday papered over the cracks in their alliance at a summit in Canada but came away with little more than an agreement to disagree on trade, as U.S. President Donald Trump defiantly brandished his “America First” agenda.
Trump, who last week slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, the European Union and Mexico, left the Group of Seven summit early but not before threatening to cut off trade with countries that treated the United States unfairly.
“We’re like the piggy bank that everybody is robbing,” he said at a press conference as his G7 counterparts continued their two-day meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, and officials hammered out a joint communique.
“This isn’t just G7. I mean, we have India, where some of the tariffs are 100 percent ... And we charge nothing,” Trump said. “And it’s going to stop. Or we’ll stop trading with them.”
In their communique, the leaders of the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Japan agreed on the need for “free, fair, and mutually beneficial trade” and the importance of fighting protectionism.
“We strive to reduce tariff barriers, non-tariff barriers and subsidies,” they said in the statement.
Trump, who repeated that his tariffs are meant to protect U.S. industry and workers from unfair international competition, told reporters he had suggested to the other G7 leaders that all trade barriers, including tariffs and subsidies, be eliminated.
He also denied the summit had been contentious, a remark that contradicted what
