A day ahead of the opening of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan , on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that India’s trade tariffs were “unacceptable”. “I look forward to speaking with Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi about the fact that India, for years having put very high tariffs against the United States, just recently increased the tariffs even further. This is unacceptable and the tariffs must be withdrawn!” the President said, referring to India’s recent decision to raise tariffs on 28 U.S. goods.
Mr. Trump went to Osaka as tensions, especially trade ones, were on the rise between the U.S. and several other countries, both its friends and foes. In a similar attack on Japan, Mr. Trump had been critical of its trade practices and has also launched a tariff war with China. Besides, the talks his administration initiated with North Korea have been stalled for months, while the U.S. was on the brink of a war with Iran a few days earlier. But at G20, despite these tensions, the world saw a more conciliatory Trump.
‘A very big deal in the offing’
In two days, he held talks with a host of leaders including Mr. Modi, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of China and Shinzo Abe of Japan. Before the crucial talks with Mr. Modi, he said that “a very big deal” with India was in the offing. “I think we were going to have some very big things to announce. Very big trade deal,” he observed. Later, both India and the U.S. said the leaders had a “productive” meeting on subjects such as trade, 5G technology, energy security and the Iran crisis. India is the U.S.’s ninth largest goods trading partner with $87 billion in total. The U.S. has a deficit of $24.2 billion with India, according to the 2018 numbers.
In the case of Japan, Mr. Trump had repeatedly attacked Tokyo for the trade imbalance. In 2018, the U.S. had a trade deficit of $67 billion with Japan while the total trade stood at about $220 billion. At Osaka, Prime Minister Abe provided the U.S. President with a list of recent Japanese investments in the U.S. “We are very very happy about that,” Mr. Trump told reporters about the list.
In a statement issued in Washington, the White House “reaffirmed” the countries’ commitment to bilateral coordination on “shared security challenges”, while Japan’s Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said in Osaka that both leaders agreed to “speed up trade negotiations so that they can achieve results swiftly”.
Talks with China
Mr. Trump’s most remarkable turnaround was on China with which the U.S. had a $378.6 billion trade deficit in 2018. After trade talks between the two sides collapsed in May, he had threatened to impose tariffs on the $300 billion worth Chinese products that are currently spared in the tariff war. The U.S. accuses China of wrong trade practices, currency manipulation and technology theft. The Trump administration has slapped 25% additional tariffs on $200 billion Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to retaliate with tariffs on American products. After trade talks failed, the U.S. had launched a global campaign against Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei, which is a pioneer in 5G technology.
In talks on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit, both Mr. Trump and Chinese President Xi agreed to resume trade talks. Mr. Trump said he would allow American companies to sell high-tech equipment to Huawei, a key demand from China. In return, China would buy large amounts of U.S. farm goods, while trade talks will progress.
Ready to meet Kim
The most surprising announcement, however, came on Saturday early morning when Mr. Trump tweeted that he was ready to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the demilitarised zone between the North and South Koreas. “After some very important meetings, including my meeting with President Xi of China, I will be leaving Japan for South Korea [with President Moon]. While there, if Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!” he said.
Talks between the U.S. and North Korea have stalled after the Hanoi summit of Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim in February failed to produce any result. Mr. Trump’s sudden call for another meeting suggests that he’s keen on pursuing the diplomatic route with North Korea despite the recent setback, seeking its denuclearisation in return for economic incentives.
‘ Get rid of them’
While the U.S. President dialled down tensions and appeared more willing to work with world leaders to resolve differences and disputes, there’s one section of people he continued to attack even in Osaka — journalists. “Fake news is a great term isn’t it,” he joked with Mr. Putin, referring to his favourite attack on America’s liberal media. When journalists surrounded Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin with questions after their meeting, the former even quipped: “Get rid of them.” And then he asked the Russian leader, “You don’t have this problem in Russia, but we do,” to which Mr. Putin responded, “We also have. It’s the same.”
