The Latest US, France near possible deal on digital tax

BIARRITZ, France — The Latest on the summit of leaders from the Group of Seven democracies (all times local):

French officials say the U.S. and France are nearing a possible deal on taxing online powerhouses — and avoiding new tariffs on French wine.

Two officials said Monday that progress was made at a dinner Sunday night with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, France’s finance minister and other U.S. officials on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France.

France introduced a 3% tax last month on French revenues of big tech companies like Google and Amazon, which currently pay next to no taxes on French sales.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened retaliatory measures on French wine, which could be announced as soon as Monday.

Asked about the wine tariffs Monday, Trump said “it depends on the deal we work out on the digital tax,” which “We’re negotiating right now.”

The French officials said France would scrap its tech tax if an international tax deal on digital multinationals is in place by 2020 or 2021 — and could reimburse the companies if the international tax is lower than the French tax.

The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity because they could not be named publicly.

G-7 leaders are wrapping up a summit dominated by tensions over U.S. trade policies and a surprise visit by Iran’s top diplomat.

U.S. President Donald Trump and summit host French President Emmanuel Macron will finish off the three-day summit with a joint news conference Monday.

But first the leaders of the Group of Seven rich democracies — the U.S., France, Britain, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy — are holding a string of meetings on climate change, how digitalization is transforming the world and other issues.

The troubled world economy is overshadowing the meetings in the French Atlantic resort of Biarritz.

Macron also took a big gamble by inviting the Iranian foreign minister to Biarritz, hoping to secure a breakthrough in global tensions over Iran’s nuclear program. </s> BIARRITZ, France (AP) — The Latest on the summit of leaders from the Group of Seven democracies (all times local):

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson talked trade with his Australian counterpart at the Group of Seven summit in France as he sought to position his nation for a post-Brexit world.

Johnson's office says he and Prime Minister Scott Morrison "discussed their enthusiasm for an enhanced and deep trading relationship once the U.K. leaves the EU."

The two leaders also discussed concerns about Hong Kong "and agreed that it was paramount for all sides to remain calm and peaceful."

Johnson says it was "fantastic" to talk to Morrison, who "seemed in very high spirits" despite England's victory Sunday in the third test of the Ashes cricket series.

French officials say the U.S. and France are nearing a possible deal on taxing online powerhouses — and avoiding new tariffs on French wine.

Two officials said Monday that progress was made at a dinner Sunday night with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, France's finance minister and other U.S. officials on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France.

France introduced a 3% tax last month on French revenues of big tech companies like Google and Amazon, which currently pay next to no taxes on French sales.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened retaliatory measures on French wine, which could be announced as soon as Monday.

Asked about the wine tariffs Monday, Trump said "it depends on the deal we work out on the digital tax," which "We're negotiating right now."

The French officials said France would scrap its tech tax if an international tax deal on digital multinationals is in place by 2020 or 2021 — and could reimburse the companies if the international tax is lower than the French tax.

The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity because they could not be named publicly.

G-7 leaders are wrapping up a summit dominated by tensions over U.S. trade policies and a surprise visit by Iran's top diplomat.

U.S. President Donald Trump and summit host French President Emmanuel Macron will finish off the three-day summit with a joint news conference Monday.

But first the leaders of the Group of Seven rich democracies — the U.S., France, Britain, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy — are holding a string of meetings on climate change, how digitalization is transforming the world and other issues.

The troubled world economy is overshadowing the meetings in the French Atlantic resort of Biarritz.

Macron also took a big gamble by inviting the Iranian foreign minister to Biarritz, hoping to secure a breakthrough in global tensions over Iran's nuclear program. </s> Mounted police officers patrol along the beach, with the G7 venue Bellevue in background, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019 in Biarritz. Leaders of the Group of Seven countries arrive on Saturday to discuss issues including the struggling global economy and climate change until Monday. They include the United States, Germany, Japan, Britain, France, Canada and Italy. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

BIARRITZ, France (AP) — Leaders of major world economies are meeting to discuss the shaky world economy amid trade disputes and uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies.

Trump tried to play down tensions among Group of Seven leaders after they had dinner Saturday in the southwest French resort of Biarritz. He is worried that the global economic slowdown is spreading to the U.S. before next year’s elections.

The G-7 leaders are meeting Sunday morning to focus on what they can do together to boost the economy. They include the heads of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy.

Disputes on trade have unsettled the global economy because businesses don’t know where tariffs will be imposed.

Anti-capitalist protesters also plan demonstrations Sunday after clashing with police near Biarritz on the summit’s opening day Saturday. </s> BIARRITZ, France — Leaders of major world economies are meeting to discuss the shaky world economy amid trade disputes and uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies.

Trump tried to play down tensions among Group of Seven leaders after they had dinner Saturday in the southwest French resort of Biarritz. He is worried that the global economic slowdown is spreading to the U.S. before next year’s elections.

The G-7 leaders are meeting Sunday morning to focus on what they can do together to boost the economy. They include the heads of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy.

Disputes on trade have unsettled the global economy because businesses don’t know where tariffs will be imposed.

Anti-capitalist protesters also plan demonstrations Sunday after clashing with police near Biarritz on the summit’s opening day Saturday. </s> President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, to travel to Biarritz, France, for a G-7 summit. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

BIARRITZ, France (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):

President Donald Trump is dining with world leaders attending the annual Group of Seven summit in France.

The opening event of the meeting of the world’s richest democracies is being held at the Biarritz lighthouse with its commanding views of the Bay of Biscay.

Foreign policy and security issues are set to be on the agenda for what is being billed as an informal dinner.

The French presidency has chosen five local chefs, all with Michelin stars, to prepare meals featuring local Basque cuisine for the summit.

President Donald Trump French and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed economic and trade issues, as well as security challenges, during their private lunch ahead of the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz.

The White House says they “discussed the importance of promoting free and fair trade, reducing trade barriers, taxation, and regulation, and ensuring freedom of navigation and commerce as pillars of global economic growth.”

Earlier Macron’s office said he raised a proposal with Trump to bring the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating table over the latter’s nuclear program — a notion that only garnered passing mention by the White House.

The U.S. readout of Saturday’s meeting says only that they “also addressed security challenges of mutual concern, particularly the ongoing crisis in Libya, growing instability in the Sahel region, and tensions in the Persian Gulf.”

President Donald Trump may be in France for an international summit, but his mind is on news coverage at home after he referred to himself as “the chosen one” and pointed to the sky when discussing a spiraling trade war with China.

Trump is tweeting that he was “being sarcastic, and just having fun.” His comments before boarding Marine One this past week were met by laughs from some of the assembled press members.

Trump is attacking news outlets “who covered it as serious news & me thinking of myself as the Messiah.” He adds: “No more trust!”

Trump is in Biarritz, France, for the Group of Seven summit.

President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron (eh-mahn-yoo-EHL’ mah-KROHN’) held a private lunch before the start of the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz.

Macron, who’s hosting the summit, said the leaders are discussing “a lot of crisis” around the world, including Libya, Iran and Russia, as well as trade policy and climate change.

Trump said the two leaders “actually have a lot in common” and a “special relationship.” He adds, “We’ll accomplish a lot this weekend and I look forward to it.”

Asked if he would follow through on his threat to place tariffs on French wines in retaliation for France’s digital services tax, Trump was noncommittal, saying only that “I love French wine.”

President Donald Trump has arrived in France for a summit with world leaders. The Group of Seven meeting in Biarritz comes amid anxieties over a global economic slowdown and the president’s escalating trade war with China.

Air Force One arrived in the seaside resort town on Saturday afternoon.

The two-day summit is taking place at one of the most unpredictable moments in Trump’s tenure, with his public comments and decision-making increasingly erratic and acerbic of late.

Trump faces a wary reception from fellow world leaders. He’s opened new points of tension with allies on trade, Iran and Russia.

The summit is scheduled to kick off with a dinner Saturday night. The summit is expected to focus on economic issues and climate change, among other topics.

President Donald Trump heads into a summit with global economic powers confronting the consequences of his preference for going it alone in a polarized nation and an interconnected world.

The Group of Seven nations are gathering in a French beach resort town at one of the most unpredictable moments in Trump’s tenure, with his public comments and decision-making increasingly erratic and acerbic of late.

Trump faces an icy reception on the world stage, where many challenges await.

With fears of a financial downturn spreading, Trump has ridiculed Germany for its economic travails. But he may well need German leader Angela Merkel (AHN’-geh-lah MEHR’-kuhl) and others to help blunt the force of China’s newly aggressive tariffs on U.S. goods. </s> Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin walks to a working breakfast with President Donald Trump and Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the Hotel du Palais on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. (Erin Schaff, The New York Times, Pool)

BIARRITZ, France (AP) — The Latest on the summit of leaders from the Group of Seven democracies (all times local):

French President Emmanuel Macron says France and the U.S. have reached a “very good agreement” defusing tensions over a French tax on online giants like Google.

The tax had prompted threats from U.S. President Donald Trump of heavy tariffs on French wine.

Speaking Monday alongside Trump, Macron said they made “considerable headway in the spirit of unity” at the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France.

Macron said France would reimburse companies who pay the tax once an international tax deal is in place to replace the 3% French tax on French revenues of big online companies. It’s aimed at reducing tax avoidance for digital multinationals.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he hopes for a meeting in coming weeks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Speaking alongside Trump on Monday, Macron said G-7 leaders had agreed that Iran needs to meet its nuclear obligations and that there was a hope for a diplomatic breakthrough in the tensions that have grown since the U.S. left the 2015 nuclear accord.

Macron spoke at the end of the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says a G-7 agreement on fighting the Amazon fires treats the region like a colony.

The response came in a tweet Monday morning after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the Group of Seven had agreed on a $20 million firefighting fund as well as a long-term initiative to protect the rainforest.

At the same time, Macron savaged the Brazilian president for “extraordinarily disrespectful comments” about his wife and reiterated that Bolsonaro had lied about commitments to deforestation.

Bolsonaro, in turn, said Macron’s “ludicrous and unnecessary attacks on the Amazon” were unacceptable and accused him of treating the region “as if we were a colony.”

French President Emmanuel Macron says he is considering launching an international campaign to help sub-Saharan African countries fight fires raging in the area that are being compared to the Amazon rainforest fires.

Macron tweeted from the Group of Seven summit Monday that “the forest is also burning in sub-Saharan Africa. We are studying the possibility of launching an initiative similar to what we just announced for the Amazon.”

Macron said earlier Monday that G-7 nations are committing $20 million to countries in the Amazon region to help fight the fires and help with “re-forestation.”

Environmental groups have expressed concern about massive fires in African countries including Angola and Congo that are getting less attention than those in the Amazon, which have caused worldwide concern because of their potential impact on climate change.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says that the world faces “a dramatic climate emergency.” He is urging leaders at a Sept. 23 summit in New York to agree to cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than they promised in the 2015 Paris climate accord.

Guterres said Monday at the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, that “we are much worse than we were during Paris (…) And so it’s absolutely essential that countries commit themselves to increase what was promised in Paris.”

Guterres said that Greenland’s ice cap was melting “dramatically” and that 2015 through 2019 were “the five hottest years on record.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has pulled the U.S. out of the Paris accord but Guterres said states, cities and businesses had “the capacity to deliver in relation to climate action.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has missed a discussion on climate with other world leaders at the Group of Seven summit in France.

Trump was scheduled to attend Monday’s session on climate, biodiversity and oceans, but his chair was empty during a portion of the meeting reporters were allowed to witness.

French President Emmanuel Macron says that while Trump didn’t attend, his aides were there.

The president started the morning behind schedule. His meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel was delayed about two hours.

He then met with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where he was asked about attending the climate session.

He said it would be his next stop and that he wants clean air and water.

Trump is a climate change skeptic who once had claimed it’s a hoax that was invented by the Chinese.

Some called it PorkGate. A disagreement between Britain’s prime minister and makers of a distinctive type of pork pies highlighted some of the tensions surround the country as it faces Brexit.

Boris Johnson said on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in France, where he is trying to drum up trade with the U.S., that Britain’s failure to sell Melton Mowbray pork pies is an example of unfair U.S. barriers to trade. He said the pies are sold as far as Thailand and Iceland.

But Matthew O’Callaghan, head of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association, told the BBC that Johnson had it wrong and that the pies were not sold in those two countries.

Downing Street fought back saying the association was misinformed and sharing the documents Johnson used for the briefing.

Turns out Johnson was only partly correct. The company that makes them, Samworth Brothers, says they once sold a “very small amount” of the pies in those two countries, but decided in 2015 to focus on the U.K. market.

French President Emmanuel Macron isn’t backing down in his ongoing dispute with Brazil’s leader.

Macron has threatened to block a European trade deal with Brazil and other South American countries over the Amazon wildfires and what he has described as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s lies over containing deforestation.

The back and forth deteriorated over the weekend when Bolsonaro endorsed a Facebook post insulting Macron’s wife, Brigitte. Macron also accused him of missing a scheduled meeting with the French foreign minister in favor of a barber appointment and reiterated that Bolsonaro had lied to him.

Macron said: “It’s sad. First for him and for the Brazilians.”

He said Brazilian women “are doubtless ashamed to read that about their president” and that he hoped the country would soon have a president who could behave according to the standards of the office.

G-7 countries have agreed to an immediate $20 million fund to help Amazon countries fight wildfires and launch a long-term global initiative to protect the rainforest.

The announcement came from French President Emmanuel Macron, the host of this year’s meeting of G-7 leaders, and the Chilean President Sebastián Piñera. Macron said that the Amazon represents the “lungs” of the planet and that leaders were studying the possibility of similar support in Africa, also suffering from fires in its rainforests.

Macron said the U.S. supported the initiative, although he acknowledged that U.S. President Donald Trump had skipped Monday’s working session on the environment.

Satellites have recorded more than 41,000 fires in the Amazon region so far this year — with more than half of those coming this month alone. Experts say most of the fires are set by farmers or ranchers clearing existing farmland.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hailing what she describes as a “big step forward” on Iran at the Group of Seven summit.

G-7 leaders held what Merkel describes as a constructive discussion on Iran Saturday night, which was followed by a surprise visit Sunday by Iran’s foreign minister for discussions with the French hosts.

Merkel said Monday: “It is a big step forward that we not only don’t want Iran to have nuclear weapons, but we also (want to) achieve the solution by political means.”

Merkel was pressed on what progress she saw exactly and on whether U.S. President Donald Trump was prepared to accommodate any move toward alleviating sanctions against Iran. She replied: “I can’t say that at the moment. There is an atmosphere here in which talks are welcomed, in which talks between the Europeans and Iran and particularly France and Iran are welcomed — this is happening in coordination with the United States of America, and that is already a lot.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson talked trade with his Australian counterpart at the Group of Seven summit in France as he sought to position his nation for a post-Brexit world.

Johnson’s office says he and Prime Minister Scott Morrison “discussed their enthusiasm for an enhanced and deep trading relationship once the U.K. leaves the EU.”

The two leaders also discussed concerns about Hong Kong “and agreed that it was paramount for all sides to remain calm and peaceful.”

Johnson says it was “fantastic” to talk to Morrison, who “seemed in very high spirits” despite England’s victory Sunday in the third test of the Ashes cricket series.

French officials say the U.S. and France are nearing a possible deal on taxing online powerhouses — and avoiding new tariffs on French wine.

Two officials said Monday that progress was made at a dinner Sunday night with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, France’s finance minister and other U.S. officials on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France.

France introduced a 3% tax last month on French revenues of big tech companies like Google and Amazon, which currently pay next to no taxes on French sales.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened retaliatory measures on French wine, which could be announced as soon as Monday.

Asked about the wine tariffs Monday, Trump said “it depends on the deal we work out on the digital tax,” which “We’re negotiating right now.”

The French officials said France would scrap its tech tax if an international tax deal on digital multinationals is in place by 2020 or 2021 — and could reimburse the companies if the international tax is lower than the French tax.

The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity because they could not be named publicly.

G-7 leaders are wrapping up a summit dominated by tensions over U.S. trade policies and a surprise visit by Iran’s top diplomat.

U.S. President Donald Trump and summit host French President Emmanuel Macron will finish off the three-day summit with a joint news conference Monday.

But first the leaders of the Group of Seven rich democracies — the U.S., France, Britain, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy — are holding a string of meetings on climate change, how digitalization is transforming the world and other issues.

The troubled world economy is overshadowing the meetings in the French Atlantic resort of Biarritz.

Macron also took a big gamble by inviting the Iranian foreign minister to Biarritz, hoping to secure a breakthrough in global tensions over Iran’s nuclear program. </s> Leaders of the Group of Seven are arriving for a working meeting focused on looming threats to the global economy.

U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of the other G-7 countries, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, Germany, Canada as well as the European Union were expected to discuss the spread of trade disputes, notably the U.S. trade war with China.

Sunday's gathering in the French seaside resort of Biarritz comes on the heels of the first face-to-face meeting between Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is hoping for a quick trade accord with the United States as Britain's exit from the European Union approaches. </s> PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron wants an August summit of the Group of Seven advanced economies to take concrete initiatives on climate change despite divergences with the United States on the issue.

Macron said that President Donald Trump's presence at the G-7 summit of Biarritz, in southwestern France, is not being questioned. Macron was speaking Friday at a news conference in Paris alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Macron said the summit also aims at easing tensions on world trade, stressing the importance to "understand where our differences lie" and "how we can overcome them."

Last year, Trump roiled the G-7 meeting in Canada by first agreeing to a statement on trade before withdrawing from it while complaining that he had been blindsided by Trudeau's criticism of tariff threats. </s> The tragic wildfires in the Amazon rainforest are some of the worst in history, and the public is concerned. Luckily, it sounds like world leaders are hearing the public's call for aid and are working on a package that could assist the Amazon. However, one familiar face was missing from this important get together, because Donald Trump skipped a G7 meeting that was all about the Amazon rainforest and environmentalism.

On Monday, Aug. 26, Group of Seven (G7) leaders met in Biarritz, France and agreed on a $20 million aid package in order to confront the forest fires taking over the Amazon. According to The New York Times, French President Emmanuel Macron and Chilean President Sebastián Piñera also agreed to a long-term program that would focus on forest protection and reforesting lands that have already been cleared. From the looks of it, a lot was done during this meeting. However, U.S. President Donald Trump didn't attend the meeting, and instead sent a Trump administration senior staffer instead, per The Times.

On Aug. 26, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham told reporters that Trump had scheduled meetings that conflicted with the G7 meeting. "The President had scheduled meetings and bilaterals with Germany and India, so a senior member of the Administration attended in his stead," Grisham said.

So far, there's been no word as to exactly what the aid package will go toward. According to Piñera, the countries impacted will need specialized aircrafts and fire brigades in order to take on the wildfires.

This G7 meeting marks an important step to help the Amazon, which is currently suffering from extreme, out of control fires which threaten to destroy the rainforest which is nicknamed the "lungs of the planet." The ecosystem is one of the largest sources of biodiversity and oxygen in the world, and helps decrease the effects of climate change by storing carbon. Per CNN, as of Aug. 24 there were as many as 80,626 fires burning throughout the portion of the Amazon within Brazilian borders.

As the president of the United States, it's understandable that Trump had a busy schedule. However, Trump has aired his skepticism about climate change in the past, denying scientific evidence that it's caused by human activities. (At least 97% of climate scientists agree that climate change is primarily man-made, per NASA.) In October 2018, Trump appeared on 60 Minutes and told host Lesley Stahl that he doesn't stand by previous comments he's made that climate change is a "hoax." However, he still isn't fully convinced that global climate change is man-made. He said,

Even though Trump missed this G7 meeting, rumor has it he has big plans for the 2020 meeting. The Times reported that Trump is thinking about holding the next G7 meeting at his National Doral luxury golf resort in Doral, Florida. However, critics have questioned the ethics of such a move, as the Trump-owned resort would see a financial profit off of hosting such a high-profile event. Nothing has been confirmed as of yet, but perhaps the G7 leaders will be swapping their work clothes for swimming suits. Despite the criticism, Trump defended his decision to host the G7 summit at one of his properties to reporters on Monday, Aug. 26. He said,

Trump might have skipped out on this particular G7 meeting, but hopefully the other world leaders will fill him in. One thing is for sure, this aid package could help the Amazon in numerous ways, which could impact all of us. In the meantime, here's how we can help the Amazon ourselves.
Group of Seven leaders hold their yearly meeting in Biarritz, France.