During the Group of Seven Summit on Friday, President Donald Trump asked the world leaders to consider the possibility of “no tariffs” at all as tensions over the administration’s trade moves continues to grow.
According to Politico, officials who listened and took notes of the discussions said that President Trump told the assembled world leaders that “we should at least consider no tariffs, no barriers — scrapping all of it.”
But the idea was challenged by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is hosting the summit in Quebec.
“What about subsidies?” the Canadian leader apparently asked.
Politico reported that the leaders of major economic countries didn’t take Trump’s suggestion as serious.
“We’ll take it as a starting point,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel, another top opponent of Trump’s tariffs and trade rhetoric, reportedly responded.
World leaders are hoping that during the summit they will be able to convince Trump to back off the recently-implemented tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, which were implied on U.S. allies including Canada, Mexico, and the European Union last week despite months of negotiations between parties over exemptions for the measures.
The European Union and Mexico have both threatened to respond with retaliatory measures, while Canada responded in official statements by making fun of the stated U.S. reason for implementing the tariffs as a national security.
Both the European Union and Canada have filed complaints against the tariffs with the World Trade Organization (WTO), alleging the measures violate international laws.
“The European Union and Canada have requested WTO dispute consultations with the United States regarding US duties on certain imported steel and aluminum products. The requests were circulated to WTO members on 6 June,” the WTO said in a statement.
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