President Donald Trump charged into the Group of Seven summit at odds with key allies over US tariffs, then set out to defuse tension with friendly banter and offered vague claims of progress in trade talks.
But details were scant and clear differences remained at the summit's midpoint.
After days of verbal sparring over new US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, Trump joined the leaders of major industrialised nations in an idyllic Canadian resort town yesterday.
On his way to the annual gathering, Trump laid out his fundamental grievance, saying that other countries "have been taking advantage of the United States on trade."
Trump's recent moves, building on 18 months of nationalist policy-making, leave him out of step with the globally-minded organization and have prompted speculation that the group could fracture into something more like the "G-6 plus one."
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said the issue "hasn't been raised around the G-7 table," though she said there have been "some direct conversations in bilateral meetings." She added "there are no grounds whatsoever for bringing Russia with its current behaviour back into the G-7."
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