Group of Seven leaders hold their final day of talks in Biarritz, France, with U.S. President Donald Trump kicking things off with a bang. Read the developments in real time.
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The chancellor said she wants to the EU and the U.S. to start trade negotiations using the bloc’s existing mandate—which excludes agriculture, a key French demand. But she also signaled that she would be open to broadening the mandate further down the line.
“Most important would be that these talks begin,” Merkel told reporters at her final press conference. “I’ve lobbied for that here, even if one assumes that this cannot be the complete agenda yet. I hope that the talks will begin on the basis of the existing mandate which the EU has got from the member states.”
Merkel Welcomes Progress on Iran (12:53 p.m.)
Iran has been one of the big focuses of attention at this summit and Merkel was upbeat about what’s been achieved. In a nutshell, Trump gave his blessing to French efforts to lead the outreach even though the U.S. isn’t ready to get involved.
“There is an atmosphere at this summit in which talks are welcome, talks of Europe with Iran and especially of France with Iran,” she said. “This happens in coordination with the U.S. and that’s already a lot.”
“What will come out of this we cannot say today,” she went on. “But the firm will to talk is already a big step forward.”
G-7 in Miami? (11:47 a.m.)
Trump is already thinking that next year’s G-7 summit in the United States should be in Miami—and perhaps more specifically centered around his own property at Trump Doral golf resort.
“We haven’t found anything that could even come close to competing” with Doral, Trump said, stressing the no final decisions have been made.
Trump cited the advantages of a global summit in Miami, telling German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of their meeting this morning that she would be just a three-minute helicopter ride from the airport to the site.
Trump has already run afoul of ethics experts and faced multiple lawsuits over his continued involvement with some of his private business, such as the Trump International Hotel in Washington. Located a global summit on one of his properties would open him up to a slew of new allegations that he’s mixing his private financial gain with his public position as commander in chief.
Doral is definitely built more for play than work, and its website boasts that it’s only eight miles for the Miami airport. It’s 800 acres, boasts four golf courses and 643 rooms, plus more than 100,000 square feet of event space—including the Donald J. Trump Grand Ballroom.
Trump and Merkel Make Nice Ahead of Bilateral (11:37 a.m.)
The president and the chancellor looked more comfortable than they often have in the past, swapping jokes and laughing together in front of reporters before heading into private talks.
There was policy substance too. Both said there has been progress on Iran and agreed they have to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear weapons.
Trump said the G-7 has found “great unity” on Iran. Merkel said there is movement on the issue but there’s still a long way to go.
France, U.S. Draft Deal on Internet Tax (9:40 a.m.)
On the sidelines of the leaders’ negotiations in Biarritz, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has been holding meetings with his U.S. counterpart Steven Mnuchin and other members of Trump’s economic policy team.
They’ve agreed a draft deal to prevent an escalation of the tensions over a new French tax on internet giants that had riled the U.S. administration, a French finance minister official said.
Under the terms of the deal, France will pledge to respect any policy agreed at the OECD and refund internet companies the difference if the tax is lower than the one France has already introduced. The U.S., in return, won’t impose retaliatory tariffs on French wines.
Now Trump and Macron have to decide whether they will accept the deal. They have a joint press conference at 3:30 p.m.
Trump Knew of Zarif Visit, Supported Invitation (9:20 a.m.)
One of the biggest questions hanging over Sunday’s surprise visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was when Trump was told. He answered the question himself this morning.
“He spoke to me, he asked me, I said if you want to do that, that’s OK,” Trump said at a morning meeting Egypt’s Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. “I don’t consider that disrespectful at all, especially when he asks me for approval.”
China Wants to Talk Trade (9:01 a.m.)
Trump told reporters that the Chinese government called his team in Washington Sunday in a bid to restart talks on trade. The two countries both raised tariffs last week as their trade war escalated.
“China called last night our trade people and said let’s get back to the table,” Trump said. “They understand how life works.”
The president said the U.S. would accept the Chinese invitation and return to the negotiations.
