World lines up against Trump’s policies on free trade and climate change at G20
US finding itself increasingly isolated under Trump’s leadership
The growing international isolation of the United States under President DonaldTrump was starkly apparent on Friday as the leaders of major world economies mounted a near-united opposition front against Washington on issues ranging from climate to free trade.
At a gathering of the Group of 20 world economic powers, normally a venue for drab displays of international comity, there were tough clashes with the United States and even talk of a possible transatlantic trade war.
The tensions were a measure of Trump’s sharp break with previous US policies. They were also a warning signal of Washington’s diminished clout, as the leaders of the other 19 nations gathered in Hamburg mulled whether to fix their signatures to statements that would exclude Trump or to find some sort of compromise. Two European officials said they were leaning toward a united front against Washington.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose difficult job it was to bridge the differences, made little attempt to paper over the disagreements after the first day of meetings.
“The discussions are very difficult. I don’t want to talk around that,” Merkel said.
She described the view of most participants that “we need free but also fair trade,” a rejection of Trump’s scepticism about the value of sweeping free-trade agreements. And she predicted that the lower-level officials charged with negotiating a final statement deep into the night “had a lot of work ahead of them.”
Some of the clearest divides had to do with climate change after Trump’s decision to pull the United States from the Paris climate accords. There were sharp warnings about US steel policy as Trump mulls restrictions on imports.