‘US being taken advantage of’: Trump leaves G7 scrambling to produce face-saving statement as he heads to meet Kim Jong-un
Before flying to Singapore to meet the North Korean leader, the president proposed a tariff-free Group of Seven with ‘fair and reciprocal’ trade
US President Donald Trump ended his time at the Group of Seven summit reiterating that the United States needed fair access to markets and an end to unfair trade practices.
“The United States has been taken advantage of for decades and decades,” Trump told reporters, adding he did not blame the allied leaders for the “unfair” trade deals.
“No tariffs, no barriers. That’s the way it should be. And no subsidies. I even said, ‘no tariffs,’” Trump insisted.
“We had extremely productive discussions on the need to have fair and reciprocal” trade, he said.
“We want and expect other nations to provide fair market access to American exports and that 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 G7 leaders were scrambling to find a face-saving formula Saturday to counter the impression that the summit had served to only deepen the rift between Trump’s Washington and its traditional allies.