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CWA # 27, 24 June 2018
Global Politics
FactSheet: G7 Summit

  Hely Desai

Though Trump's exit from the final agreement dominated the summit outcome, the G-7 leaders had a larger agenda in their June 2018 meeting in Canada.

School of Liberal Studies, PDPU, Gandhinagar & Research Intern, National Institute of Advanced Studies, IISc (Bengaluru)

The G7 summit 2018 was held on 8 June 2018 at La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada, with the following seven member countries; US, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, UK and Italy.

Who participated in the Summit?

President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister Theresa May, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, The European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker and the President of the European Council Donald Tusk, were among the attendees. Also, in addition to the G7 leaders, Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina and Chair of the G20, Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya, Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda and Chair of the African Union, Macky Sall, President of Senegal, Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister of Vietnam were in presence.

The Summit Agenda

Climate change and oceans, inclusive economic growth; gender equality and women's empowerment; world security; and jobs of the future. The countries and international organisations invited to the G7 summit included Argentina, Bangladesh, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Marshall Islands, Norway, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Vietnam, IMF, OCED, UN and the World Bank.

The summit centred along the following:

1. Investing in growth that works for everyone; which includes the state of the economy, fiscal and monetary policy, tax, trade, investment and infrastructure.

In order to ensure that everyone pays their fair share, exchange approaches and efficient international efforts to deliver fair, progressive, effective and efficient tax systems will be put in place. Continuing to fight tax evasion and avoidance by promoting the global implementation of international standards and addressing base erosion and profit shifting will be a primary focus. The impacts of the digitalization of the economy on the international tax system remain key striking issues.

2. Preparing for jobs of the future; which includes issues such as generating good jobs for all, including youth, and redesigning education to foster innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship in a digital age.

As the main investors in robotics, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, synthetic biology, clean technologies and drivers of automation, the G7 community in particular must work together to harness the benefits and mitigate the costs, of the changing labour market. This policy brief discussed how the theme of ‘Preparing for Jobs of the Future’. First, it provides background on how technological advancements are affecting jobs, pertaining to the issues of increasing automation, the changing nature of work and the emergence of new types of jobs. Second, it explains how these issues affect the G7 countries in particular and how their leaders should prepare citizens for the future of work. And finally, it discusses how the G7 have dealt with the topic in previous summits, and what credible commitments and developments leaders have made during this year’s summit. 

3. Advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment; by ensuring that gender equality and gender-based analysis are integrated across all themes, activities and outcomes of Canada’s G7 Presidency’.

This policy brief considered the ways in which the leaders of the G7 member states have previously tackled issues of global development, and how the Canadian Presidency has done so this year. Specifically, it looks at development through a gendered lens, considering the effects of gender budgeting on global development, specifically its impacts on women and girls, men and boys, and, the broader global economy.

4. Building a more peaceful and secure world; by addressing threats ranging from the use of chemical weapons in Europe and Syria, nuclear and missile proliferation in North Korea, regional security risks in Ukraine and the Baltic States, the Middle East and North Africa, Venezuela, and Asia, to terrorism, crime and corruption, and violations of democracy and human rights throughout the world, including via the internet.

With the recent diplomatic fluctuations between both the US and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and the US and Iran, the issue of nuclear proliferation has become an even more sensitive subject on the international agenda due to its destabilising nature. This policy briefs evaluate whether the G7 plays a significant role in terms of effective nuclear disarmament in the DPRK and Iran, and strongly recommends that while a multilateral consensus for non-proliferation is vital, each country has to take individual steps to facilitate nuclear disarmament.

5. Working together on climate change, oceans and clean energy; which includes controlling climate change as a current compelling threat, protecting the natural environment, enhancing the environment and the economy together through clean technology and in other ways, and protecting the oceans from plastic and other pollutants.

This policy brief examined the environmental theme of the 44th G7, how countries have previously addressed the issues of climate, energy and the environment. It questions the premise of the relevance of the G7 for the global climate, clean energy, and environmental commitments, both as bundled under a single theme and in light of the US administration’s approach therein.

In the communique, the group of major industrial nations had initially agreed on the need for "free, fair, and mutually beneficial trade" and the importance of fighting protectionism.

Other agreements include:

  • US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the EU have reached an agreement on “consensus language”.
  • Russia: A joint demand that Moscow "cease with its destabilising behaviour" and to withdraw its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
  • Iran: A pledge to "permanently" ensure Tehran's nuclear programme remains peaceful.
  • Climate Change: An agreement to disagree. The US refused to sign a pledge to implement the Paris climate change accord after Mr Trump announced the US would pull out of the agreement.

While Italy's new premier Giuseppe Conte, head of a populist coalition, had suggested he supports Trump's call, to include Russia in the summit, the French president Emmanuel Macron congregated the European G7 leaders before the summit and confirmed unanimous opposition. “The American president may not mind being isolated, but neither do we mind signing a six-country agreement if need be," He stated in a tweet. Donald Tusk, the former Polish leader attending as President of the European Council, saw the call for Russia's return as a queue of unilateral measures imposed by Trump that have united the rest of the world against America. Trudeau further told reporters, the US national security justification for the tariffs on steel and aluminium was "laughable."

The Piggy Bank Row: and an Early Exit

Prior to the issue of the communique, President Trump called out the alleged unfair trade practices by the member nations claiming the US to be a ‘piggy bank’ that everyone is robbing. He further claimed Trudeau to be dishonest and weak, and calling him out, to have stabbed him in the back.

In a series of tweets, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reciprocated to President Trump’s abandonment of the summit, by condemning the statement and the exit stating that Canada will not be pushed around. He was backed by France, Germany and the UK. He further refuted to the proposed Sunset Clause in NAFTA.

9 June 2018: President Trump walked out of the meeting, to attend the Singapore Nuclear summit, with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Having left the G7 summit early, Trump’s proclamation of withdrawing out of a joint communique fired up to what seemed to be a delicate consensus on the trade and employment, a dispute between Washington and its main allies. Theresa May articulated that UK would not disregard the concerns of allies, but that multilateral action was the accurate manner to address the troubles caused by globalization for workers in some countries.

Since the US and Japan declined the agreement to reduce plastic pollution in the oceans, ultimately only 5 countries ended up signing the agreement. The summit concluded with the heightened tensions between the US and Europe, its then allies, in light of the trade and NAFTA negotiations.

The question that lingers is that whether the economic giants are ready to change the global world order without America and Trump’s whimsy? All we can hope for now, is that may the Kim-Trump Summit, have a better outcome than the G7 summit.

“We are facing pressing social, economic and environmental challenges that transcend all borders. Only by working together will we find the innovative solutions we need to deliver meaningful results to people around the world. Canada is committed to working with other countries to fight inequalities, create economic growth that benefits everyone, and leave a better, healthier planet for future generations.”

— Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

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