LA MALBAIE, Canada — Secretary of State Marco Rubio refuted claims of a trade war in the U.S. as he concluded his visit to a summit with leading diplomats from the Group of 7 industrialized democracies on Friday.
“There is no trade war,” Rubio asserted. “The United States is recalibrating its trade relationships on a global scale to achieve an equilibrium based on reciprocity.”
His statement came in stark contrast to remarks made by Mélanie Joly, Canada’s foreign minister, who just hours prior informed reporters that the Trump administration “was engaged in a trade war against Canada” and European nations. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump had imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum and threatened 200% tariffs on alcohol imports from the European Union the following day.
Joly indicated she had an extensive discussion with Rubio regarding these issues.
“We will exert maximum pressure on the Americans,” she declared.
The discrepancy in perspectives between the two diplomats overshadowed the officially planned agenda of the G7 meeting, which included discussions on Russia’s conflict in Ukraine and relations with China. Instead, the turmoil surrounding tariffs took center stage. The newly strained ties between the long-time allies were further highlighted by the chilly weather the foreign ministers encountered upon their arrival on Tuesday, with Trump once again ridiculing Canada from the Oval Office as the summit was taking place in Québec on Thursday.
“Canada only functions as a state,” Trump stated. “We don’t require anything they possess.”
On Friday, Joly condemned these remarks, emphasizing that she did not perceive them as humorous but rather as a serious threat.
“Canada’s sovereignty is not negotiable,” she stated plainly. “End of story.”
The diplomatic friction between the U.S. and Canada intensified in Ottawa on Friday as Mark Carney took the oath of office as the new prime minister.
“It’s preposterous. His assertion is absurd. That’s all there is to it,” Carney remarked. “We will never, under any circumstances, be part of the United States.”
After initially downplaying the issue in conversations with G7 officials, Rubio was pressed to clarify Trump’s comments regarding Canada potentially becoming the 51st state.
“The Canadian government has clearly communicated their stance on the matter. The president has articulated his belief that Canada would benefit economically from joining the United States,” Rubio observed. “There exists a disagreement between the President’s viewpoint and that of the Canadian government.”
Rubio also mentioned that the president has expressed affection for Canada.
Joly stated her intention to seek an “off-ramp” to de-escalate the trade conflict, but Rubio contended that no such necessity existed, as the situation involved the U.S. redefining its trade policies.
Rubio further argued that Trump’s tariff actions were not antagonistic toward countries globally, despite Trump describing the European Union as “hostile and abusive” on social media the previous day. In the Oval Office, Trump added: “The European Union is very, very unpleasant.”
In an interview with NBC News, Kaja Kallas, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security policy, remarked that the G7 meeting was overall “good”, emphasizing discussions on Russia’s war in Ukraine among other topics. However, she acknowledged that EU diplomats were displeased with Trump’s comments from Thursday.
“Certainly, such statements come as a surprise, given our long-standing friendship and alliance with the United States,” she remarked. “We’ve collaborated on numerous positive initiatives.”
“We don’t truly comprehend how we have warranted such remarks,” she added.
Nevertheless, regarding Ukraine, the U.S. appeared to align more closely with its G7 allies on Friday — at least for the moment. The joint communiqué from the summit underscored support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and cautioned Russia to adhere to a ceasefire or risk facing additional sanctions.
Rubio rejected the notion that this represented any transformation in U.S. policy.
“I’ve never heard President Trump assert that Russia has the right to seize all of Ukraine and act unilaterally there,” he stated. “So that statement is not inconsistent with our position.”
The consensus among the G7 nations — including Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.S. — highlighted the necessity for “security arrangements” to establish a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, although Rubio refrained from detailing what those security measures might entail. Notably, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had a notable confrontation with Trump in the Oval Office regarding U.S. security guarantees to facilitate a peace treaty.
While speaking to reporters, Rubio praised a “positive and productive engagement” that occurred on Thursday between Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, but he declined to speculate on potential next steps in ceasefire negotiations, noting that Witkoff was still en route back to the U.S.
“There are grounds for cautious optimism,” Rubio commented. “At the same time, we must acknowledge the complexity and difficulty of this situation.”
When asked by NBC News if he trusted Putin, Rubio replied:
“I consider that an irrelevant question. In foreign policy, trust is secondary to action… It’s insufficient to merely express a desire for peace; you have to actively pursue it — and this holds true for both parties in any conflict.”
“This is not a matter of personalities,” he concluded.
