Elizabeth Morgan | G7 Summit – Was anything achieved?

THE GROUP of 7 met in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 15-17. The meeting was chaired by Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney. This was his first global meeting and his first test to show his leadership ability. This article is being written before the final outcome of this meeting will be known.

The Group of 7 countries comprise the USA, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, France, Japan, and Canada, which are the world’s largest developed democratic economies. This G7 Summit is usually attended by the president of the European Union. In reality, the world’s largest democratic economies are now in the Group of 20 (G20), currently chaired by South Africa.

Invited guests attending included the president of Mexico, prime minister of India, president of Ukraine, president of Brazil, president of South Africa, the prime minister of Australia, and the president of South Korea. Other invited guests included the UN secretary general, NATO secretary general, and the World Bank president. It seems that the theme and agenda previously set for this meeting under the administration of then Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, were changed by events unfolding since January.

The G7 foreign ministers met in March in Quebec and finance ministers in Banff, Alberta, in May, in preparation for this summit. Work on the draft communiqué and other outcome documents would normally have begun. The agenda for the summit was directed to the following:

· The wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and now between Israel and Iran; and

· The US tariffs and their economic impact.

The challenge facing the group was actually the presence of US President Donald Trump at this summit. When he attended the G7 Summit held in Canada in 2018, he left early and did not sign the concluding summit communiqué. It is said that Trump is not comfortable in multilateral-type meetings.

For this summit, in his second term, the challenges were even greater. He returned to office determined to implement his ‘Make America Great Again (MAGA)’ agenda. Trump arrived in Canada on Sunday, June 15, for the summit, wearing a white MAGA cap.

A CHALLENGING UNDERTAKING

G7 leaders met against a background of Trump having expressed a desire to annex Canada making it the US’s 51st state and also indicating an interest in acquiring Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, a member of the European Union (EU). Both Canada and Denmark are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance. Trump has also unilaterally imposed higher tariffs on all the other G7 members and the world, triggering serious economic uncertainty.

In the war between Ukraine and Russia, Trump has seemed to be more sympathetic to Russia. On the matter of NATO, he has stated that members and others take advantage of the USA. Members of the Trump administration or people aligned to the MAGA movement of the Republican Party have supported ultra-right wing conservative groups in European G7 members.

G7 leaders had bilateral meetings with the US president at the White House, such as France’s President Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, Canada’s Mark Carney, and the Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz. Many of these meetings, except with Italy, as seen on television, have not looked the most comfortable. In addition, encounters between Europeans and members of the Trump administration have been strained.

Trump has returned to office again withdrawing from bodies of the United Nations, including the Paris Climate Change Accord, and distancing himself from the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The administration is also signalling that it will reduce contributions to multilateral bodies.

Thus, it could be assumed that Trump’s arrival was viewed with trepidation at the G7 Summit, but the host, Canada, and all others attending, were endeavouring to be at their most diplomatic and seeking to get some sort of positive outcome from discussions. However, it was reported that Carney sought to manage expectations regarding the outcome.

ANOTHER EARLY EXIT

On the Israel/Iran war, there were already rumours reported that Trump had no intention of signing a proposed joint G7 statement. Later on Monday, it was breaking news that he would be leaving the summit early, after one day, because of the Israel-Iran conflict. This was on the agenda of the G7 for discussion.

Also, on the agenda for day two, was the Russia/Ukraine war with President Zellenskyy of Ukraine attending. So far, there has been no success in getting Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine. The carnage in Gaza continues with world leaders seeming to have little influence on Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is executing his own agenda.

Trade and tariffs were also high on the agenda. On day one, Trump signed an initial trade agreement with the UK prime minister. The status of this trade agreement is actually not clear. Trump had a bilateral meeting with Carney in which trade was a focus. They agreed to have trade negotiations within 30 days.

It should also be noted that all is not well in the USA as protests seem to be increasing as many Americans oppose Trump policies, oppose the erosion of democracy, and now a seeming rise in politically motivated violence.

Trump skipped the rest of the G7 agenda and any other bilateral encounters. It is reported that the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, also left the meeting. It is assumed that they left a team to deal with the rest of the agenda.

NO LEADERS’ COMMUNIQUÉ

It seems that there would be no leaders’ communiqué from this summit.

The issues before the G7, or at the end, the G6, are important to all of us. The hostilities in the Middle East could affect the price of oil. The Ukraine conflict has applied economic pressure on many fronts, including the price of grain. It has seen military spending increased at the expense of overseas development assistance. Civilians are dying and being abused in all these conflicts.

US unilateral trade tariffs are affecting all countries with their accompanying volatility and uncertainties. The deadline for applying Trump’s reciprocal tariffs or for getting a letter with new tariffs could be July 8. It does seem that countries are concerned about one-sided trade negotiations with the USA.

Did the G7 address critical issues such as climate change, climate finance, sustainable development, the situation in Haiti, and the treatment of immigrants, including the banning of countries? On the latter, recall that the USA is scheduled to co-host the FIFA World Cup, June-July 2026, and to host the Olympic Games in July 2028. Recall also that travel bans and further restrictions affect countries’ ability to do business with the USA and travel for meetings and events. Already, people are opting not to visit the USA, if not necessary, and it is reported that international visitor numbers in the USA are down.

So, as the world becomes more unstable, a more dangerous place, was anything of substance achieved at the G7? At least, it gave those remaining an opportunity for further discussions among themselves and to explore their partnerships.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com