BIARRITZ: USPresident Donald Trump and EU leaders exchanged trade war threats yesterday asthey arrived in France for a G7 summit of wealthy democracies overshadowed bytrans-Atlantic tensions before it had even begun. "Trade wars will lead torecession, while trade deals will boost the economy," EU Council PresidentDonald Tusk said in Biarritz, the chic Atlantic resort chosen by French hostPresident Emmanuel Macron to stage the annual meeting.
Trump flew intoBiarritz on Air Force One hours after promising to impose punishing tariffs onFrench wine imports if Macron doesn't withdraw a tax on US tech giants. AndTusk vowed that the EU "will respond in kind." "The last thingwe need is a confrontation with our best ally, the United States," hesaid. "This is not our initiative, this trade and tariff struggle, but wehave to be ready and we are ready."
It was acombative opening to the G7 summit, traditionally a forum for frank yet cordialdiscussions among leaders from the world's leading economies-but much less sosince Trump's election. European leaders are also using the summit to mount atough push for action against fires in the Amazon rainforest, despite Brazilianright wing President Jair Bolsonaro's angry response to what he sees as outsideinterference. Echoing a warning from France, Tusk said Bolsonaro's response tothe fires and his downplaying of climate change threw into question a majorEU-South America trade deal.
"We ofcourse stand by the EU-Mercosur agreement, which is also about protecting theclimate and the environment," he said. "But it is hard to imagine aharmonious process of ratification by the European countries as long as theBrazilian government allows for the destruction of the green lungs of planetEarth."
'People aremobilized'
G7 leaders weregreeted by a mass protest outside Biarritz, though 13,000 police have beendeployed to keep them far from view. Organizers said 15,000 people ralliedaround 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of the G7 gathering at the border town ofHendaye for a march over the Bidassoa River toward the Spanish town of Irun.
Red, white andgreen Basque flags waved above a crowd that included anti-capitalists,environmental activists as well as a few dozen of France's "yellowvest" anti-government protesters, according to AFP journalists at thescene. "It's important to show that people are mobilized and do not acceptthe world they're offering us," said Elise Dilet, 47, of the Basqueanti-globalization group, Bizi. The rally was peaceful so far, after policesaid 17 people had been arrested as of Friday night amid clashes withprotesters camped out near Hendaye.
Escalatingthreats
Talks in thebeach resort, known for fierce rainstorms that blow in from the Atlantic, willalso be dominated by the darkening clouds over the world economy.
Wall Streetstocks slumped Friday after Trump escalated his trade war with China that isseen as responsible for a global slowdown. "We don't need China and, frankly,would be far... better off without them," Trump tweeted on Friday, sayingUS companies were "hereby ordered to immediately start looking for analternative to China."
And as he leftfor Biarritz, Trump also fired a salvo at France, threatening to slap heavytariffs on its wine in response to its move to impose a sales tax on techgiants like Facebook, Apple and Google. "Those are great Americancompanies, and frankly, I don't want France going out and taxing our companies.Very unfair," he told reporters at the White House. "And if they dothat, we'll be taxing their wine... like they've never seen before." In atelevised address ahead of the summit, Macron said his goal was "toconvince all our partners that trade tensions are bad for everyone".
Johnson debut
The G7 meetingwill also be the full international debut of British Prime Minister BorisJohnson, who will meet Trump for the first time as leader. They are expected todiscuss the UK's impending exit from the European Union, which the US presidenthas enthusiastically backed. But though Johnson needs Trump's support for afree-trade deal, he is at odds with him on a range of issues including the Irannuclear crisis, climate change and global trade.
Trump is likelyto find himself under pressure from the Europeans, particularly Macron, to easeoff on his policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran over its nuclearprogram. Since pulling out of the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement limitingTehran's nuclear program, Trump has slapped crippling sanctions on the Iranianeconomy. Macron wants him to put a "pause" on the policy, an aidesaid recently, which would enable talks to find a new diplomatic solution tothe crisis. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told AFP on Friday thatMacron's "suggestions" to find a way out of the current impasse were"moving in the right direction." -AFP