Trudeau and Macron: 'American jobs are on the line because of Trump's trade war'

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands at a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada. Photo / AP

France and Canada's leaders have issued a blunt message to US President Donald Trump, warning his punishing trade tariffs may ultimately cost Americans their jobs.

Speaking today at a joint press conference Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron warned the US president his actions had put his people's "jobs on the line".

The Canadian premier encouraged Trump to reconsider his decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.

The two leaders, who obviously have a close relationship, have spoken out against Trump's trade tariffs. Photo / AP

"American jobs are on the line because of his actions and because of his administration," Trudeau said on Parliament Hill in Ontario.

"When we can underscore this, and we see that there's a lot of pressure within the US, perhaps he will revise his position."

Macron, who arrived in Ottawa on Wednesday evening for talks in advance of the pivotal G7 summit, agreed.

"A trade war doesn't spare anyone," he said.

"It will start to hurt American workers, the cost of raw materials will rise and industry will become less competitive."

If Trump withdraw the US from its global role, it would be a disaster for the nation's economy and image, Macron said, adding that he believes Trump knows this to be true.

He continued: "The G7 is an opportunity for us to get together and have frank, open discussions among nations who have long been allies and friends," Macron told reporters, with Trudeau at his side.

"There will be subjects on which the (US) president is not totally in sync with the others. I'm thinking of course of climate change and trade," the French leader said.

"Our common goal is to try to find a text that can be signed by everyone," he explained, but added that "the desire to sign a common G7 declaration must not outweigh the need to be mindful of the content".

"We Europeans and the Japanese are not ready to give up everything to get" Trump's signature, he said, adding that would be a "mistake".

But Trump is not going to bend hitting back on Twitter after the leaders spoke.

Please tell Prime Minister Trudeau and President Macron that they are charging the U.S. massive tariffs and create non-monetary barriers. The EU trade surplus with the U.S. is $151 Billion, and Canada keeps our farmers and others out. Look forward to seeing them tomorrow.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2018

Trump may well be distracted by his upcoming June 12 summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, which will be in Singapore immediately after the rich-world talking shop in Canada.

But it seems likely that the US leader will enjoy a warmer encounter with the autocrat from Pyongyang than with his Canadian hosts and European and Japanese allies.

Leaders like Trudeau and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel admit it will be difficult to even agree on a joint communique at the two-day meeting.

Merkel said on Wednesday that there would be "no compromise for its own sake" and that dropping the statement "may be the more honest way".

"We know certainly that there will be frank and sometimes difficult discussions around the G7 table, particularly with the US president on tariffs," the Canadian premier told reporters.

Canada's Trade Minister Francois Philippe Champagne was even blunter, declaring: "What we are seeing is that the world economic order is under pressure, under attack."

Senior White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow calls on a reporter during a briefing at the White House in Washington on the upcoming G7 summit. Photo / AP

Top White House economics advisor Larry Kudlow, in line with the long-standing expert consensus in the G7 industrialised democracies, opposed tariffs before joining Trump's team, but now says he agrees that the trade status quo hurts America.

"Until we can have reciprocal relationships, we will not have free trade, and we will not have fair trade," Kudlow said.

Europe does not come to Quebec from a position of strength. Britain's Theresa May is mired in endless Brexit negotiations and Italian premier Giuseppe Conte only formally took power on Wednesday.

The G7's only Asian member, Japan, has close relations with the White House, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's support for Trump's North Korean outreach has not seen his country spared the tariffs.

The G7 developed in part because the world's rich powers - despite their supposed Cold War victory - became frustrated in working through the broader multilateral system with lesser rivals.

The globalised economy that they helped build had winners and losers, of course, but until Trump's election, the United States was seen as the system's uncontested leader and a major beneficiary.

A pedestrian walks past boarded up shop windows as preparations are made for possible G7 summit protests in Quebec City, Quebec. Photo / AP

But now, according to Laurence Nardon of the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI), one of the main actors on the international stage is no longer following the same script.

"It completely calls into question the international system," she told AFP. "This G7 summit is a new act in the drama. So far, the six are standing strong, but Trump has not finished."

Since coming to office in January 2017, Trump has pulled the US out of the Paris climate accord, the Iran nuclear deal and the TPP Pacific free trade deal.

The summit begins Friday in La Malbaie, in Charlevoix, north of Quebec, and runs until Saturday, when Trump flies on to Singapore.