BIARRITZ, France, Aug 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson will on Sunday seek to persuade President Donald Trump to offer
flexibility on trade and also win concessions from the EU on Brexit, at a G7
summit hosted by France marked by stark divisions.
Johnson was to hold his long-awaited first face-to-face meeting as premier
with Trump in the southern French resort of Biarritz and also at midday talk
with EU Council President Donald Tusk after a bitter verbal spat the day
earlier.
Host President Emmanuel Macron wants to make the three-day meeting of the
Group of Seven nations that started Saturday, an example for international
forums but the first day was marked by EU leaders rounding on Trump on trade.
In a radical break from previous meetings of the elite club, there is to
be no final statement haggled over in late night talks. Macron also invited
several world leaders from outside the G7 such as India’s Narendra Modi and
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The Basque resort of Biarritz, which
at this time of year usually teems with surfers, sunbathers and tourists, has
been turned into a fortress for the event with over 13,000 police on duty and
its gleaming beaches out of bounds to the public.
An anti-capitalism demonstration in nearby Bayonne turned ugly Saturday
when the crowd of several hundred tried to get through police barricades and
was repelled with water cannon and tear gas.
– ‘Considerable barriers’ –
On Sunday, all eyes will be on Johnson as he makes his biggest
international appearance since taking office in July on a pledge to deliver
Britain’s exit from the European Union and return the self confidence of his
nation.
In the lead-up to the talks, Johnson appeared at pains to distance himself
from Trump after facing accusations in the past of being too cosy with the
American leader.
He urged Trump to remove the “considerable barriers” for UK companies
seeking to export to the American market, saying they risked impeding a free-
trade deal after Brexit.
Johnson pointed to a string of UK products — ranging from shower trays to
Britain’s beloved pork pies — that he said were not allowed on the American
market.
“We intend to seize those opportunities but they are going to require our
American friends to compromise and to open up their approach, because
currently there are too many restrictions,” he said.
In another comment that could rile the Americans, he said that US digital
giants like Facebook and Google needed to be taxed “fairly and properly” on
their revenues. Johnson also sounded the alarm over Trump’s escalating trade
struggle with China.
Johnson’s talks with Tusk later in the day could prove to be prickly after
the pair exchanged barbs on Saturday over who would be to blame if Britain
left the European Union without a deal.
“I still hope that Prime Minister Johnson will not like to go down in
history as Mr ‘No Deal’,” Tusk told reporters in Biarritz.
Johnson retorted it was up to the EU to “get rid of” the so-called Irish
backstop, a provision guaranteeing that border checks will not return between
Ireland, an EU member, and Britain’s Northern Ireland.
– ‘Very special guest’ –
G7 summits, gathering Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and
the United States, were once a meeting of like-minded allies. But they’ve
become a diplomatic battlefield under Trump.
In an attempt to break the ice, Macron deployed the charms of French
cuisine on Saturday, treating Trump to an unscheduled lunch as soon as he
arrived on Air Force One.
Speaking to reporters in fluent English, Macron called Trump “a very
special guest” and aides later said that the two men had found some common
ground, notably on the Iran nuclear crisis.
G7 chiefs are also hoping to soothe tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme
and persuade Trump to ease his policy of “maximum pressure”, for example by
lifting sanctions on Iranian oil sales to China and India.
Macron is also pushing for action against fires in the Amazon rainforest,
despite Brazilian right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro’s angry response to
what he sees as outside interference.