Donald Trump accused the European Union of a “brutal” approach to trade with the United States and warned that retaliating to American steel tariffs would be a mistake.

The US president accused other states of “robbing” his country through their trade policies.

Despite being at odds with other countries at the gathering in Canada, Mr Trump rated his relationship with their leaders as a “10” – naming Germany’s Angela Merkel, French president Emmanuel Macron and Canada’s Justin Trudeau, but not the UK’s Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Theresa May meets Canadian PM Justin Trudeau at the G7 summit (David Hughes/PA)

Theresa May has criticised the tariffs and also opposes Mr Trump’s call for Russia to be readmitted to the group of leading industrialised nations.

But Mr Trump insisted it would be an “asset” to have Vladimir Putin back at the summit table.

The US has slapped a 25% tariff on imports of steel and 10% on aluminium from countries including the UK and the rest of the European Union.

In response, the EU is preparing new tariffs set to hit US exports ranging from jeans to bourbon whiskey.

Mr Trump, who was leaving the summit in La Malbaie early, told reporters the US needed protectionist tariffs because “we are like the piggy bank that everyone is robbing”.

Mrs May pleaded with fellow leaders to step back from the brink of a damaging trade war at a session of the summit on Friday night.

The UK is thought to have concerns about the European Commission’s proposed package of â¬2.8bn of tariffs on US goods.

Mr Trump said: “If they retaliate they are making a mistake.”

The US president also repeated his call for Vladimir Putin to join the other leaders around the summit table.

“Some people like the idea of bringing Russia back in. This used to be the G8 and not the G7 and something happened a while ago where Russia is no longer in,” he said.

“I think it would be an asset to have Russia back in, I think it would be good for the world, I think it would be good for Russia, I think it would be good for the United States, I think it would be good for all the countries of the current G7.

“I think the G8 would be better, I think having Russia back in would be a positive thing.

“We are looking for peace in the world, we are not looking to play games.”

Russia was thrown out of the group in 2014 over the annexation of Crimea.

The Prime Minister has been at the forefront of diplomatic efforts to build an alliance against Russia after the Salisbury nerve agent attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

She said that “before any such conversations can take place” about readmitting Russia, the Kremlin “needs to change its approach”.

Mr Trump’s strained relationship with the rest of the G7 was in evidence on Saturday when he arrived late for the opening session, with Mr Trudeau addressing a gathering that included an empty chair where the president was meant to be.

But despite the rows over trade and Russia, Mr Trump rated his relationship with other G7 leaders as 10 out of 10.

“I would say that the level of relationships is a 10 – we have a great relationship. Angela (Merkel) and Emmanuel (Macron) and Justin (Trudeau) – I would say the relationship is a 10.”

Mrs May is against Russia rejoining the elite group (Simon Dawson/PA)

Because of the divisions, it was unclear whether the gathering would be able to secure a joint communique agreed by all leaders setting out what had been achieved at the summit – something that has not happened since 2007.

Instead, a chairman’s statement from the host Mr Trudeau could be produced, setting out what was discussed and where agreement had been impossible.

A senior UK Government source said: “What matters is getting the substance right. At previous meetings this has been done in a number of ways, such as a chairman’s statement.”</s>LA MALBAIE, Quebec >> Solidifying his solo status on the world stage, President Donald Trump is lashing out at longtime allies over their critiques of his trade policies and plans an early exit from the annual Group of Seven meeting of industrialized nations.

Trump will descend Friday on the annual gathering, held this year at a Quebec resort, but will leave Saturday morning before the event is over, heading out to Singapore for his highly anticipated summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The White House announced his travel plans after French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signaled they will use the event to take a stance against new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

“Looking forward to straightening out unfair Trade Deals with the G-7 countries,” Trump tweeted early Friday. “If it doesn’t happen, we come out even better.”

Trump also singled out tariffs on U.S. dairy products in yet another scathing tweet directed at Canada just before the summit begins.

At a joint press conference on Thursday, Macron stressed: “A trade war doesn’t spare anyone. It will start first of all to hurt U.S. workers.” Trudeau said: “We are going to defend our industries and our workers.”

Trudeau, for his part, said Trump’s action would hurt American workers as well as Canadians.

“If I can get the president to actually realize that what he’s doing is counterproductive for his own goals as well, perhaps we can move forward in a smarter way,” Trudeau said.

As tempers frayed, Trump had a ready retort, via tweet: “Please tell Prime Minister Trudeau and President Macron that they are charging the U.S. massive tariffs and create non-monetary barriers. The EU trade surplus with the U.S. is $151 Billion, and Canada keeps our farmers and others out. Look forward to seeing them tomorrow.”

Later Thursday, Trump tweeted: “Prime Minister Trudeau is being so indignant, bringing up the relationship that the U.S. and Canada had over the many years and all sorts of other things...but he doesn’t bring up the fact that they charge us up to 300% on dairy — hurting our Farmers, killing our Agriculture!”

A few hours later, he added, “Take down your tariffs & barriers or we will more than match you!”

With a cool reception all but assured, Trump has complained to aides about even having to attend the meeting, especially since his summit with Kim is just days away. Late Thursday, the White House announced that Trump would be leaving the G-7 late Saturday morning to head to Singapore ahead of his summit with Kim, though the G-7 meeting was scheduled to last until later that day.

Trump will skip out on G-7 meetings about climate change, clean energy and ocean protection.

This marks Trump’s second summit of the G-7, an informal gathering that meets every year under a rotating chairmanship. The member countries are Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, the United States and Britain. The European Union also attends. Trump is set to hold a series of group and one-on-one meetings, including with Trudeau and Macron.

Under Trump, the United States has abandoned its traditional role in the G-7. His predecessors pressed for freer global trade and championed a trading system that required countries to follow World Trade Organization rules. Trump’s policies have been more protectionist and confrontational, driven by a perception that the U.S. has been the victim of poorly conceived trade deals.

Relations have hit such a low that a key question now is whether the seven countries can agree on a joint statement of priorities at the conclusion of the meeting. A gathering of G-7 finance ministers days earlier concluded last week with a message of “concern and disappointment” for Trump from the other six countries. France’s finance minister described the group as “far more a G-6 plus one than a G-7.”

Macron made clear Thursday that the other six countries wouldn’t hesitate to go it alone. On Twitter, he said: “The American President may not mind being isolated, but neither do we mind signing a 6 country agreement if need be.”

Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, was vague Wednesday on the outcome of the summit, saying: “For these kind of decisions, let them meet first. Let them meet; let them discuss. And then we’ll see what happens.”

Tension has been building over a year of policymaking that has distanced the U.S. from traditional allies, including by Trump’s decisions to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord and the Iran nuclear agreement. The new tariffs— 25 percent on imported steel, 10 percent on aluminum from Canada, Mexico and the European Union — threaten to drive up prices for American consumers and companies and heighten uncertainty for businesses and investors around the globe.

Canada and other U.S. allies are retaliating with tariffs on U.S. exports. Canada is waiting until the end of the month to apply them with the hope the Trump administration will reconsider.

Meanwhile, talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement that eliminated most tariffs and duties between the U.S., Canada and Mexico appear to have ground to a halt. Trump injected further uncertainty recently when he floated the idea of replacing NAFTA with two separate trade deals, one with each country.

Critics argue that the growing U.S. isolation is risky at a time when Trump is making diplomatic overtures with North Korea and in the Middle East and could use the support of allies.

Sebastian Mallaby, a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, described the relationships between the U.S. and the rest of the G-7 as at a “new level of crisis,” saying that it was not just about trade but “a general U.S. attitude toward the system.”

Despite the conflict, Mallaby predicted that the countries would still seek to work with the U.S., calling it “the indispensable country.”

Likewise, Macron described the moment as a period of “great challenges,” but also defended his efforts to befriend the American president, saying the U.S. is a historical ally and “we need them.”</s>CANADIAN FORCES BASE BAGOTVILLE, Quebec, June 7 (Reuters) - B ritish Prime Minister Theresa May will not hold a formal bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump during the G7 summit, but she will have meetings with each of the other leaders attending the summit, May’s officials said on Thursday.

The summit on Friday and Saturday in Charlevoix, Quebec, will be the first chance that G7 leaders will have to confront Trump in person since he imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union last week.

After details of May’s current schedule for the trip were distributed to journalists travelling with her to Canada, officials confirmed that no formal bilateral with Trump was expected. They did not rule out a one-to-one meeting in a different format.

May signalled that Britain wanted the European Union to use restraint in its retaliation to the U.S. tariffs and said she would continue to promote the benefits of free trade.

“Obviously the European Union will be responding. We want to ensure, and we’re working with others in the European Union to ensure, that that response is proportionate, that it is within the WTO rules,” she told reporters.

“As the United Kingdom ... we want to be a great champion for free trade around the world and that’s what we will continue to be,” she added.

Britain’s impending departure from the EU and its desire to put a trade deal with the United States at the heart of its post-Brexit global strategy have left May in an awkward position. To limit the long-term damage of a tit-for-tat trade row she has to keep Trump onside without appearing weak and at the same time fulfil Britain’s role

“I will continue to put the argument for the importance of those trade relationships around the world, and I’ll be doing that here at the G7 as I have done elsewhere and will continue to do so elsewhere as well,” she said.

During a 25 minute briefing with journalists aboard her Royal Air Force jet, May twice singled Trump out for praise, on both his contribution to pressuring tech companies about online extremism at last year’s G7, and his diplomatic progress on North Korea. (Reporting by William James Editing by Leslie Adler)</s>WASHINGTON — President Trump told global leaders gathered at the Group of Seven summit in Quebec that they must reduce trade barriers and floated the idea of lowering tariffs completely if other countries agreed to a more pure form of open trade.

Trump threatened to stop trading with other nations if they decline to lower barriers he has repeatedly described as unfair, and he warned allies against taking retaliatory measures against steep metal tariffs that he imposed last month.

“We’re like the piggy bank that everybody’s robbing,” Trump said. “And that ends.”

Ending trade with other nations under the current system, Trump said, would be “a very profitable answer if I have to do it.”

The remarks, following a two-day meeting in Canada with the world’s largest industrialized economies, were among the most strident Trump has used to describe what he sees as an out-of-whack global trade system that he says harms U.S. industries.

Speaking to reporters before leaving for his meeting in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump tried to downplay any notion that the meeting in Canada was contentious.

He repeatedly described his relationship with the other leaders at the summit as “a 10” and said he did not blame the other countries for their positions on trade.

Trump drew international criticism last month for leveling a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% duty on aluminum, measures the president says are necessary for national security. The president has also said he is considering a tariff on imported cars.

The president said the ideal situation would be a completely free trade system with the other G-7 nations — Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada. Under such an arrangement, he said, the U.S. would agree to remove all tariffs and barriers if the other countries did as well.

Trump did not indicate that he had received any concessions in his negotiations on trade at the summit. Several other leaders have threatened retaliatory tariffs.</s>OTTAWA (Reuters) - Leaders of the Group of Seven rich nations headed for a summit in Canada on Thursday more divided than at any time in the group’s 42-year history, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” policies risk causing a global trade war and deep diplomatic schisms.

In a bid to rebuild America’s industry, Trump has imposed hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, including those from key G7 allies like Canada, Japan and the European Union.

He has threatened to use national security laws to do the same for foreign car imports and has walked back on environmental agreements and an international deal to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who has invested in a warm personal relationship with Trump, said that the other G7 nations should remain “polite” and productive but warned that “no leader is forever”, a sign that Europe would not surrender meekly to the U.S. president.

“Maybe the American president doesn’t care about being isolated today, but we don’t mind being six, if needs be,” Macron told reporters. “Because these six represent values, represent an economic market, and more than anything, represent a real force at the international level today,” he said.

Trump will come face-to-face at the gathering in Charlevoix, Quebec, with world leaders whose views do not chime with his on a range of issues from trade to the environment as well as Iran and the construction of a new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.

Ahead of the summit, Trump signaled that he was in no mood to compromise at a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has tried to cultivate a friendly relationship with the American president.

Trump raised the issue of U.S. car imports with Abe at a meeting in Washington and said he wanted more investment plants in the American industrial heartland of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Abe is not the only world leader to have tried charming Trump and failed to come away with concessions from the U.S. leader. Macron, who appeared to have built a warm relationship, said that the so-called “G6” leaders would not spark a fight at the summit.

“In this environment, above all we always have to stay polite, stay productive and try to convince (them), to keep the United States on board because they are our historical ally and we need them,” Macron told a news conference held with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa.

The U.S. president also has frosty relations with Trudeau, the summit host. Pleas by the other member countries for exemptions from the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, which went into effect on June 1, have fallen on deaf ears in Washington.

The Canadian leader is embroiled in rows with Washington over steel and aluminum and negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement where Trump’s negotiators have tried to bulldoze Canadian and Mexican objections to a modified pact.

Macron stressed however that the United States was no longer the sole economic superpower in the world and urged other industrialized countries to stick together.

His plea for unity may fall, even within the European Union. Germany has suggested making accommodations over trade with the United States for fear of triggering a ratcheting up of tensions over cars that would embroil companies like BMW and Mercedes.

Europe faces renewed domestic economic and political challenges in addition to those posed by Trump’s unilateralism.

One source with knowledge of the matter said that Italy wanted to “create as much space as possible to continue the dialogue with the U.S.”, noting that new Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte, a political novice, would be treading carefully in Canada because he “needs to see the dynamics of the group.”

Japan is also expected to take a less confrontational approach than its G7 peers, while still quietly pressing its case on trade.

Abe too has more at stake than tariffs and Trump reassured him that Washington would press Kim over the hundreds of Japanese citizens who have been kidnapped by North Korea. Japan has said it cannot normalize diplomatic relations without the issue being resolved.

Despite the lobbying and pleas, Trump has pressed ahead with tariffs as well as pulling out of the Paris climate accord. Intense diplomacy from Europe to save an international nuclear agreement with Iran also failed.

At the same time as taking on Europe and allies like Japan. Trump has told China, the world’s second largest economy, to cuts its massive trade surplus with the United States. Washington has also threatened tariffs on imports of Chinese goods unless Beijing stops stealing American companies’ intellectual property.

Economically too, Europe may have more to fear if Trump does go for auto tariffs.

Its recovery from the 2008-9 financial crisis has been far slower than that of the United States where the Federal Reserve is on the cusp of another rate rise while the European Central Bank is still using crisis-era measures.

Financial markets around the world were battered by Trump’s trade threats, although they have recovered somewhat, they are still vulnerable and Italy’s new government is also a risk. Trump may have less to fear than slow-growing Europe and Japan from a trade war in terms of economic losses if the “G6” pushes back on tariffs.

“This is unlikely to deter President Trump given the United States’ widening $570 billion trade deficit, particularly if he feels cornered,” said Olivier Desbarres of economic strategy consultancy 4X Global Research.

“This could in turn rattle equity markets and an already under pressure Mexican Peso and stymie any upward trend in the range-bound Canadian Dollar and recovering Euro.”</s>The United States and European Union will establish a dialogue on trade within the next two weeks, a French official said on Friday, signaling a modest step forward for bitterly divided allies at a Group of Seven summit in Canada.

The United States and European Union will establish a dialogue on trade within the next two weeks, a French official said on Friday, signaling a modest step forward for bitterly divided allies at a Group of Seven summit in Canada.

No breakthrough at G7 summit - but US and EU take small step on trade

U.S. trading partners have been furious over President Donald Trump's decision last week to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, the European Union and Mexico as part of his "America First" agenda. Some countries have retaliated with their own levies on U.S. imports.

"The principle of a dialogue was agreed this afternoon," the French official told reporters. "Everyone agreed, including President Trump." While G7 leaders confronted Trump with a slew of data on imports and exports in a bid to sway his thinking, Trump countered his own numbers and held his position that the United States was at a disadvantage on international trade, an official who followed the talks said.

But Trump struck a more affable tone after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, saying the French leader was helping work out trade issues. "Something's going to happen. I think it will be very positive," Trump said, without giving details.

Macron said it was possible to advance the trade issues that have split the U.S. and its allies. "I think, on trade, there is ... a way to progress all together," he told reporters after his meeting with Trump. "I saw the willingness on all the sides to find agreements and have a win-win approach for our people, our workers, and our middle classes."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday floated an idea to set up a way to resolve trade disputes between the United States and its allies. An official described Merkel's suggestion as a "shared assessment and dialogue" mechanism, but gave no further details. It was unclear if the technical talks were part of her initiative. The proposal was supported by other leaders present, the official said. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker offered to visit Washington for an assessment of EU-US trade to help resolve the dispute, an official said.

Merkel said it was not clear whether the group would issue a final directive, adding that failure to do so would be an honest reflection of the lack of agreement among Canada, the United States, Japan, Britain, Italy, France and Germany. The EU is also attending the summit. Trump had set a combative tone before leaving Washington on Friday, saying he was "going to deal with the unfair trade practices" of other G7 members.

But he was more affable after meeting Macron and Trudeau, swapping jokes with the latter before the media though neither budged on their trade positions. "We've had really a very good relationship, very special," the U.S. president said of Macron, a day after the two leaders had exchanged terse messages on Twitter. "We have little tests every once in a while when it comes to trade." Merkel and Trump also had a brief conversation at the summit but no bilateral meeting.

Trump’s "America First" message to allies has hardened since he brought hardline national security adviser John Bolton on to his team. Trump plans to leave the summit four hours earlier than originally planned to fly to Singapore to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the White House said. G7 chiefs have largely praised Trump for his efforts to stabilize the Korean peninsula, but they are unhappy he pulled out of an international agreement to limit Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Canada and the EU have denounced the U.S. tariffs and Ottawa has proposed levies on a range of U.S. goods next month while the EU has pledged its own retaliatory measures. British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday warned both Trump and the EU of the dangers of entering a tit-for-tat trade war over tariffs, urging both sides to instead focus on China's excess steel production. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said her country "will not change its mind when it comes to the illegal" application of tariffs.

The spat has financial markets worried about tit-for-tit escalation. Investors are also concerned about the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump has threatened to terminate. Canada and Mexico, the other members of the 1994 pact, have been frustrated by the slow pace of talks to renegotiate NAFTA. A Canadian official said Trump and Trudeau discussed accelerating NAFTA talks. Relations with Russia also became an issue at the summit after Trump on Friday said the country should be allowed to again attend meetings with the G7, an idea that did not gain much traction at the meeting and was not formally raised. Russia was suspended from group in 2014 because of its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Trump said Russia should be readmitted, but even Moscow seemed to reject that suggestion.

Merkel said EU countries at the summit agreed that the conditions to readmit Russia had not been met. Trump's presidency has been clouded by a federal investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, and possible collusion by his campaign. Both Moscow and Trump have denied the allegations.</s>Summits of the Group of Seven powers are often marred by anti-globalist demonstrations in the streets of the host city.

This time, the greatest threat to the liberal world order will be inside the fence.

President Donald Trump comes to this week’s Quebec G7, which begins on Friday, touting an “America First” agenda that hits US allies with trade tariffs and threatens multilateral free trade deals.

His stance will receive such a hostile reception from the other leaders of the world’s richest democracies that some observers have suggested renaming the G7 summit the G6+1.

Trump may well be distracted by preparations for his June 12 summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, which will be in Singapore immediately after the rich world talking shop in Canada.

But it is not such a stretch to imagine that the US leader will enjoy a warmer encounter with the autocrat from Pyongyang than with his Canadian hosts and European and Japanese allies.

Is the world spiralling down towards Thucydides Trap?

And leaders like Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel admit it will be difficult to even agree a joint communique at the two-day meeting.

“We know certainly that there will be frank and sometimes difficult discussions around the G7 table, particularly with the US president on tariffs,” Trudeau told reporters.

Merkel told German lawmakers Wednesday before setting off for Canada that there would be “no compromise for its own sake” and that dropping the statement “may be the more honest way”.

But Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium – and eventually other goods, such as German luxury cars – have pushed G7 members to the brink of all-out trade war.

Canada’s Trade Minister Francois Philippe Champagne was more blunt, declaring: “What we are seeing is that the world economic order is under pressure, under attack.”

And Trump is not likely to back down.

“There are disagreements,” top White House economics adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters Wednesday. “He is sticking to his guns.”

Kudlow, in common with the long-standing expert consensus in the G7 nations, had long opposed tariffs before joining Trump’s team, but now says he agrees that the trade status quo hurts America.

“Until we can have reciprocal relationships we will not have free trade, and we will not have fair trade,” Kudlow said. “So I think his cause is just and I think the rest of the world agrees with him.”

Europe does not come to Quebec from a position of strength. Britain’s Theresa May is mired in endless Brexit negotiations and Italian premier Giuseppe Conte only formally took power on Wednesday.

French President Emmanuel Macron made initial headway in forming a public friendship with Trump, but has failed to sway the US leader on any issue, while Merkel has been distracted by coalition negotiations.

The G7’s only Asian member, Japan, has close relations with the White House, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s support for Trump’s North Korean outreach has not seen his country spared the tariffs.

So the prospect of a joint communique encompassing trade seems faint, and the summit may be capped by a simple statement from the hosts summarising the narrow areas of consensus.

A senior European Union official briefing reporters on the pre-summit negotiations used discreet understatement to describe the impasse, but only ended up underscoring the width of the rift.

“We find the tariffs to be illegal, so finding common language continues to be a challenge,” he said.

The G7 developed in part because the world’s rich powers – despite their supposed cold war victory – became frustrated in working through the broader multilateral system with lesser rivals.

The globalised economy that they helped build had winners and losers, of course, but until Trump’s election the United States was seen as the system’s uncontested leader and a major beneficiary.

But now, according to Laurence Nardon of the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI), one of the main actors on the international stage is no longer following the same script.

“It completely calls into question the international system,” she said. “This G7 summit is a new act in the drama. So far, the six are standing strong, but Trump has not finished.”

G-7 will never accept nuclear-armed North Korea, says Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono

William Reinsch, a senior adviser at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, said he expected the other six nations of the G7 to “gang up” on Trump.

“The president’s proclivity, though, you know, when criticised is consistently to hit back,” he added.

Since coming to office in January last year, Trump has pulled the US out of the Paris climate accord, the Iran nuclear deal and the TPP Pacific free trade deal.

While cosying up to authoritarian Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the Philippines’ brutal Rodrigo Duterte, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and even Kim – he has clashed with May, Trudeau and Merkel.

“And it feels like we are treating our allies with contempt, while we are feting our adversaries,” said Heather Conley, a CSIS senior vice-president, warning that any consensus statement would be “very short”.

The summit begins on Friday in La Malbaie, in Charlevoix, north of Quebec, and runs until Saturday, when Trump will fly on to Singapore.</s>Donald Trump's G7 press conference in La Malbaie, Que. on Saturday was certainly interesting, to say the least. The U.S. president delivered a rambling statement before taking questions from journalists.

Here are some of his most memorable answers:

The gig is up, Canada

Trump repeated his assertion that the United States has been taken advantage of for decades, citing Canada's tariffs on milk to protect its dairy farmers. He also helpfully reminded the world of the meaning of the word "reciprocal."

"We had extremely productive discussions over the need to have fair and reciprocal — meaning the same — people can't charge us 270 per cent and we charge them nothing. That doesn't work anymore."

"They understand that. They know it. When I'm telling them, they're smiling at me. You know, it's like the gig is up ... [The European Union] can't believe they got away with it. Canada can't believe they got away with it.''

Trump blamed U.S. leaders going back half a century for letting the country down with "unfair" trade policies.

"I don't blame other leaders for that. I blame our past leaders. There is no reason that this should've happened ... In fact, I congratulate the leaders of other countries for so crazily being able to make these trade deals that were so good for their countries and so bad for the United States."

Trump's next stop after the G7 summit is to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore. A reporter began to ask the president, "Will you raise the issue of the gulags with Kim Jong Un ... "

Trump replied, "We're going to raise every issue. Every issue is going to be raised."

He also said he would know in "the first minute" whether North Korea was serious based on his "touch" and his "feel."

"It's what I do," he added.

A reporter asked Trump about his relationships with the other countries in the G7 and whether he felt like alliances were shifting.

When told the reporter was from CNN, the president smirked.

"I figured. Fake news CNN. The worst ... The relationship that I've had is great, so you can tell that to your fake friends at CNN."

The president emphasized that he gets along well with G7 leaders German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Trudeau.

"I would say that the level of relationship is a 10. We have a great relationship. Angela and Emmanuel and Justin. I would say the relationship is a 10."

Before the summit, Trump has been attacking Canada's trade politics on Twitter. He also called Trudeau "indignant" due to the Canadian leader's refusal to give in to Trump's demands to do away with the country's supply management system.</s>WASHINGTON — President Trump told global leaders gathered at the Group of Seven summit in Quebec that they must reduce trade barriers and floated the idea of lowering tariffs completely if other countries agreed to a more pure form of open trade.

Trump threatened to stop trading with other nations if they decline to lower barriers he has repeatedly described as unfair, and he warned allies against taking retaliatory measures against steep metal tariffs that he imposed last month.

“We’re like the piggy bank that everybody’s robbing,” Trump said. “And that ends.”

Ending trade with other nations under the current system, Trump said, would be “a very profitable answer if I have to do it.”

The remarks, following a two-day meeting in Canada with the world’s largest industrialized economies, were among the most strident Trump has used to describe what he sees as an out-of-whack global trade system that he says harms U.S. industries.

Speaking to reporters before leaving for his meeting in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump tried to downplay any notion that the meeting in Canada was contentious.

He repeatedly described his relationship with the other leaders at the summit as “a 10” and said he did not blame the other countries for their positions on trade.

Trump drew international criticism last month for leveling a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% duty on aluminum, measures the president says are necessary for national security. The president has also said he is considering a tariff on imported cars.

The president said the ideal situation would be a completely free trade system with the other G-7 nations — Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada. Under such an arrangement, he said, the U.S. would agree to remove all tariffs and barriers if the other countries did as well.

Trump did not indicate that he had received any concessions in his negotiations on trade at the summit. Several other leaders have threatened retaliatory tariffs.

The other leaders at the summit didn't address Trump's remarks directly, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron both posted photos that showed an alternate perspective — though Macron's tweet had a hopeful tone.

"Day two of the G7 summit in Canada: spontaneous meeting between two working sessions. #G7Charlevoix," Merkel posted on Instagram with a photograph of her and Macron staring down Trump, who sat with his arms crossed as others looked on.

Macron posted a photo of leaders and aides surrounding Trump, who is one of two people sitting, as Macron gestures at him.

"#G7Charlevoix, second day: A new step has been taken. After a long day of work and very direct dialogue, we are actively seeking an ambitious agreement," an English translation of Macron's tweet says.</s>Europe and hosts Canada warned US President Donald Trump on Thursday they will not be intimidated at the G7 summit, despite the threat of a trade war between Western allies.

With the leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized democracies due in Quebec within hours, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned the US leader that they would not roll over.

And France’s President Emmanuel Macron, who met Trudeau in Ottawa before they headed on to the summit, said he would rally support from his British, German and Italian counterparts before they all sit down with Trump.

The US president, who met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Washington before the summit, is more preoccupied by his next engagement — next week’s historic nuclear summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

But before leaving Washington, he made clear that he too has no intention of backing down on his strategy to rebalance trade flows by imposing tariffs on steel, aluminum and other goods imported from US allies.

His stance will receive such a hostile reception from the other leaders that some observers have suggested renaming the G7 summit the G6+1 — and Macron said they should not hesitate to reach agreements without Trump.

“The G7 is an opportunity for us to get together and have frank, open discussions among nations who have long been allies and friends,” Macron told reporters, with Trudeau at his side.

“There will be subjects on which the (US) president is not totally in sync with the others — I’m thinking of course of climate change and trade,” the French leader said.

“Our common goal is to try to find a text that can be signed by everyone,” he explained, but added that European leaders would not surrender ground simply to obtain Trump’s signature on a G7 consensus.

But Trump is not going to bend.

“Getting ready to go to the G-7 in Canada to fight for our country on Trade (we have the worst trade deals ever made),” he tweeted Thursday.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel had already admitted it will be difficult to even agree on wording for the traditional joint communique at the two-day meeting.

Merkel said Wednesday there would be “no compromise for its own sake” and dropping the statement “may be the more honest way.”

Canada’s Trade Minister Francois Philippe Champagne was even more blunt, declaring: “What we are seeing is that the world economic order is under pressure, under attack.”

“Until we can have reciprocal relationships, we will not have free trade, and we will not have fair trade,” Kudlow said.

The G7 developed in part because the world’s rich powers — despite their Cold War victory — became frustrated working through the broader multilateral system with lesser rivals.

The globalized economy they helped build had both winners and losers but, until Trump’s election, the United States was seen as the system’s uncontested leader and a major beneficiary.

But now, according to Laurence Nardon of the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI), one of the main actors on the international stage is no longer following the same script.

“It completely calls into question the international system,” she told AFP. “This G7 summit is a new act in the drama. So far, the six are standing strong, but Trump has not finished.”

Since coming to office in January 2017, Trump has pulled the US out of the Paris climate accord, the Iran nuclear deal and the TPP Pacific free trade deal.

The summit begins Friday in La Malbaie, in Charlevoix, north of Quebec, and runs until Saturday, when Trump flies on to Singapore.
Leaders from the Group of Seven meet in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada to discuss issues facing their countries, including trade between the United States and European Union.