This year's G7 Leaders' Summit was held from June 15 to 17. Countries hoped to seize the opportunity to discuss tariff and trade issues with the United States, but ultimately only the UK signed a trade agreement with the US. Faced with escalating warfare in the Middle East, US President Donald Trump left the meeting early; during his brief attendance, he mentioned the possibility of China and Russia joining the G7, which sparked controversy.

The G7 summit opened on Monday (June 16) in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada. On the first day of the conference, US President Donald Trump made shocking remarks, stating that it was "a big mistake" for the countries to expel Russia from the original G8. He also said he wouldn't mind if China joined as well.

The G8 became history in 2014 when Russia was excluded due to its invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea. The current G7 includes the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the EU as an informal member.

Trump argued that if Russia hadn't been expelled from the G8, "there would be no war now"; because of being expelled back then, Putin felt "great humiliation," which led him to refuse communication and "only speak to me."

Trump directed criticism at former US President Barack Obama and former Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, accusing them of not wanting to keep Russia in the group. However, Trump's statement was incorrect; in fact, Trudeau did not become Canada's prime minister until 2015.

When asked whether China should also be included in the G7, Trump responded, "This idea is not bad. If someone wants China to join alone, I have no objection."

However, while the US-China tariff war temporarily paused, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who hosted the G7, seemed to want to show friendliness toward Trump and avoid provoking him. Trudeau said, "Without American leadership, the G7 is nothing."

UK-US Trade Agreement Signed

A major focus of this year's G7 summit was how to persuade Trump to abandon the tariff war, as it made the global economy more unstable. Most G7 members face a basic tax rate of 10% imposed by Trump, and the EU and Japan also bear tariffs on autos, steel, and aluminum products.

According to Agence France-Presse, some participating countries requested an end to the tariff disputes as soon as possible, otherwise it would weaken the economies of G7 nations, "ultimately making China stronger."

The Wall Street Journal reported that most leaders originally hoped to discuss with Trump face-to-face during the G7 summit, planning to reduce tariffs by increasing military spending and lowering trade barriers. However, this hope was dashed as Trump returned to the US early. The White House stated that he had important matters such as the Middle East issue to handle.

During the summit, the only country to sign a trade agreement with the US was the UK, which announced verbally in May. The UK also became the first country to reach an agreement within Trump's 90-day negotiation period.

Trump said that the UK would no longer face the threat of high US tariffs. "Why is that? Because I like them." British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that this day was "a very good day for both countries, demonstrating true strength."

According to the trade agreement framework reached between the UK and the US in May, the US will reduce tariffs on UK automobiles and steel and aluminum products, while the UK will open up larger markets for US beef and ethanol products.

The UK government stated that after signing the agreement on the 16th, the US will eliminate tariffs on UK aerospace materials, exempting the UK from the 10% tariffs imposed by Trump on almost all countries; additionally, starting this month, the US will reduce tariffs on UK cars from 27.5% to 10%, increasing the import quota to 100,000 vehicles per year.

However, according to Associated Press reports, negotiations are still ongoing regarding tariffs on UK steel, and the UK aims to achieve zero tariffs through efforts.

NHK reported that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also spoke with Trump for 30 minutes during the G7 summit to find solutions that align with Japan's national interests. However, due to remaining differences, they failed to reach an overall trade agreement.

Concerns Over Rare Earth Supply Chains

According to Reuters and Bloomberg reports, a draft of the G7 statement shows that leaders have temporarily agreed on issues such as protecting critical mineral supplies and strengthening the economy, but Trump has yet to approve the draft.

The draft states that the G7 will establish an action plan to diversify critical mineral supplies: "We share common national and economic security interests, which depend on our ability to access critical mineral supply chains and ensure their resilience and market principles... Non-market policies and measures in the critical minerals sector threaten our ability to access many critical minerals, including rare earth elements necessary for magnets, which are crucial for industrial production."

The draft mentions that G7 countries need to cooperate to increase investment in critical minerals to ensure that promising mining and processing plans can overcome various obstacles.

Source: DW

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