'Trump wishes he had raised tariffs on China even higher'
At G-7 summit, US President is alone on issues like the trade war
BIARRITZ, FRANCE: When US President Donald Trump said yesterday he had second thoughts about escalating the trade war with China, he meant he wished he had raised tariffs even higher, the White House said.
Mr Trump, who announced higher tariffs on Chinese goods last week, raised eyebrows during a morning meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the G-7 when he responded in the affirmative to questions on whether he had second thoughts about the tariff move.
White House spokesman Stephanie Grisham later sought to explain the remark.
"His answer has been greatly misinterpreted. President Trump responded in the affirmative - because he regrets not raising the tariffs higher," she said.
That episode epitomised Mr Trump at the G-7 summit where issues with leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan ranged from his trade war with China to Iran, North Korea and Russia.
Before leaving Washington, Mr Trump stepped up his tariff war with Beijing and called on US companies to move out of China.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson voiced concern and said those who support tariffs "are at risk of incurring the blame for the downturn in the global economy".
Sitting across Mr Trump yesterday, he said: "We're in favour of trade peace on the whole, and dialling it down if we can."
Asked if he was being pressed by allies to relent in his stand-off with China, Mr Trump said: "I think they respect the trade war."
Underlining the multilateral discord even before the summit got under way, Mr Trump threatened the meeting's host, saying Washington would tax French wine "like they've never seen before" unless Paris dropped a digital tax on US tech companies.
Leaping into the fray, European Council president Donald Tusk warned the European Union would respond "in kind" if Mr Trump acted on his threat.
"This may be the last moment to restore our political community," Mr Tusk told reporters on Saturday, giving a bleak assessment of Western relations.
In Biarritz, Mr Trump appeared to brush aside French efforts to mediate with Iran, saying while he was happy for French President Emmanuel Macron to reach out to Teheran to defuse tensions, he would carry on with his own initiatives.
Mr Trump also appeared at odds with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over the seriousness of North Korea's series of short-range missile launches.
Mr Trump, who prizes his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, told reporters the launches did not violate an agreement and were in line with what others were doing. Mr Abe, standing beside him, said they breached UN resolutions.
The missile launches have complicated attempts to restart talks between US and North Korean negotiators over the future of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes. - REUTERS
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