BACKGROUND PRESS CALL
BY SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS
ON THE PRESIDENT'S VISIT TO THE G20 SUMMIT
AND TO THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Via Teleconference
June 24, 2019
6:34 P.M. EDT
MR. BROWN: Hey, this is Cale Brown from the NSC. I just want to go over the ground rules real quick. First, this briefing is provided on background to senior administration officials. We'd like to embargo the contents until the end of the call, after which you're free to use the material.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Good morning, everyone, from Osaka. I just wanted to highlight what we'll be talking about in the next couple of days. The Sherpa team and I are here to negotiate the final details of the communiqué and obviously the deliverables for the upcoming summit.
The President, so far, has viewed Japan's presidency as a tremendous success. He's very much looking forward to joining Prime Minister Abe and other world leaders in Osaka at the end of the week.
Ultimately, the G20 Summit is an opportunity for leaders of the world to speak frankly with one another about the state of the economy and other issues, including trade, energy, innovation, workforce development, quality infrastructure, and women's economic empowerment.
In terms of the summit itself, Japan has organized it over a series of two days. They will open the summit with an official welcome and family photo session. They will then host four working group sessions. The first is on growth, trade, and investment. The second is on the digital economy and AI. The third will be on women's workforce participation, the future of work, and the aging crisis. And then, fourth is going to be on environment, energy, and climate.
So, in addition to these two sessions, Japan will host two side events. The first is on the digital economy, and the second is on women's empowerment. All of this will be followed by a closing session, plus a G20 presidency press conference.
So, in terms of what you can anticipate, the G20 is primarily an economic forum. It was created at the leaders' level in 2008, by President Bush, in response to the global financial crisis. So, leaders will be spending a significant amount of time talking about modern challenges to the economy, and there certainly are a significant number that need to be addressed in this forum.
Ultimately, President Trump has been coming into office in pursuit of a pro-jobs, pro-growth agenda, and his policies are working. We've added thousands of new jobs to our economy, every month. Industries are coming back to life, and Americans are excited about the economy. This is in contrast to a lot of other advanced economies who are really struggling with their growth models, unemployment, and consumer confidence in investment.
The United States wants everyone to grow, and we believe that our economic model is one that nations around the world should follow. So we'll be spending a significant amount of time talking about policies that work, including deregulation, tax reform, investment agendas, currency stability, innovation, and economic opportunities for all, including for women.
In addition to growth and prosperity, the President will focus a lot on trade, which is a key component of the pro-jobs, pro-growth strategy. We believe Americans are the most industrious in the world, and we are fully committed to opening up new markets abroad. But in order to do that, it also requires a level playing field. And the modern economic challenges that we're facing today are state-directed economic activity, IP theft, forced technology transfer. Tariffs and non-tariff barriers are really stifling our ability to take full advantage of the economy and to really grow together. So there will be a tremendous focus on that.
With respect to the digital economy and AI, the President also believes that emerging technologies will have a positive and meaningful impact on all Americans. We're committed to innovation-friendly policies that promote growth for the digital economy. We believe the G20 economies need to work together to advance open, fair, and market-based digital policies, including the free flow of data.
Women's economic empowerment is also a key focus of the Trump administration. We are proud of our record. In February of this year, President Trump launched the W-GDP, which speaks to economically empower 50 million women across the developing world by 2025.
Additionally, we see women's economic empowerment fundamentally as one of trade, economic growth, national security, and global stability. By not allowing women to fully participate in the global economy it is costing the world $12 trillion in global GDP growth. And it is critical that G20 leaders address this issue.
And, finally, on issues related to environment, energy, and climate, we have an environmental record that we are proud of. We are one of the best and most industrious and innovative in the world. And we see the key to growth being a balance between economic growth, energy security, and the protection of the environment. So we very much look forward to discussing that with other world leaders at the summit.
AP Ivanka Trump will also be attending and be giving a keynote address at the Women's Empowerment side event, and as well as participating in one of the sessions specifically related to women's workforce participation.
So that's the rundown that I have of the G20 and the key themes that we hope to hit and push out. I'm happy to answer any questions.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: What I wanted to cover real quick is that while the President is attending the G20 Summit, we anticipate that he will conduct a number of meetings with world leaders. That list includes Prime Minister Morrison of Australia, Prime Minister Abe of Japan, Prime Minister Modi of India, Chancellor Merkel of Germany, President Putin of Russia, Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, President Xi Jinping, China, and President Erdogan, Turkey.
I just wanted to run down that list and then pass it on to the next briefer.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Great, thanks very much. And I'll be happy to take questions as well, together with my colleagues after this.
But I wanted to add that, at the end of the G20, the President will travel onward to Seoul, South Korea. That's going to be late on the afternoon of Saturday, June 29th. He'll have a full schedule the evening of the 29th, and then the following day, Sunday, June 30th. And he'll start that day, the 30th, with a business leaders event, and then he'll have a number of bilateral engagements with President Moon before he departs late Sunday afternoon to return home to Washington, D.C.
And, really, this is President Trump's second visit to Seoul since he took office -- the first trip being in 2017, where he gave a speech at the National Assembly. And he's very much looking forward to being in Korea again and to seeing his ally, President Moon. President Moon was just in Washington in April. And this is just another sign that the alliance between South Korea and the United States is as strong as ever.
I'll pause there for any other briefers and then questions. Thanks.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I just wanted to say very briefly that the President is anticipating meeting with President Putin at the G20. This is a normal event that happens at these. It's not a formal summit, but it is expected to be a conversation that will focus primarily on regional security issues, including Iran, Ukraine, Syria, the Middle East. They should also touch on arms control issues and on improving the bilateral relationship. There's no formal agenda, but these are the expected topics for discussion.
Q Hello, this is Kylie Sertic with Kyodo News. I have a question about the proposed meetings with other leaders, specifically President Putin and President Xi. Do we have a timeline for when those meetings are expected? And then a second question, if I may: When the President travels to Seoul, is he going to visit the DMZ? And what will be the agenda there?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: So, let me start just with the second question, first, and then I'll ask my colleagues to see whether they're able to say anything specifically about the timings of the Putin and Xi meeting.
But we're not going into details of the President's schedule yet. There are some things that they're still coming together. And so -- unfortunately, I don’t have any confirmation of -- for your question. Thanks.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: It's the same answer on Russia. We're still working on the final details of the President's schedule, so we're not releasing any times.
Q Hi, thank you. This is Dave Nakamura with the Washington Post. The President is going to this large gathering of world leaders and meeting, as you said, bilaterally with many of them on such -- with a number of his key foreign policy projects really, kind of, in the balance here. You have the trade negotiations with China. You have North Korea talks stalled right now. You have what's happening with Iran, Venezuela, Middle East peace.
I wonder if one or more of you could just talk a little bit whether the President is expected to make major progress or some sort of breakthrough in any of these issues, or whether you're concerned at all that he has, sort of, too many balls in the air right now, and sort of whether the President is feeling pressured to sort of break through on any of these at this time and how you expect maybe he can do so at this particular summit.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah. Thanks, David. I mean, speaking on North Korea and China, you know, in terms of trade talks, I think you've heard the President say publicly on a number of occasions that he's quite comfortable with where we are, and he's quite comfortable with any outcome of those talks. So it's really just, you know, an opportunity for the President to maintain his engagement, as he has, very closely with his Chinese counterpart. Even as trade frictions persist, he's got the opportunity to see where the Chinese side is since the talks last left off. But again, the President is quite comfortable with any outcome.
With North Korea, you saw the President even speaking today about the fact that he'd received a birthday (inaudible) from Kim. He feels that he has a relationship that will allow the door to remain open. He's keeping the door open for diplomacy with Kim, but he also has made clear that the nukes have got to go; that he's looking for the final and fully verified denuclearization of North Korea.
So I don’t think the President is feeling any pressure on either of those accounts. But I'll let my colleagues speak on the other areas.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: On the Iran issue in particular, I think this is a chance for the President to engage with a number of different international leaders, among our closest partners and allies, to obtain their support and to have discussions about how we can encourage Iran to enter into negotiations and to respond to the President's diplomacy with diplomacy, instead of terrorism and nuclear blackmail.
Q Hi, this is Jordyn Phelps with ABC. Two quick questions. When the President is in South Korea, is there any possibility that he might meet with Kim Jong Un? And does the President have a specific message for Putin as it relates to election interference when the two sit down?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, Jordyn, there are no plans for the meeting that you just mentioned. The President is there to see President Moon. Of course, they’re going to talk about North Korea and they’re going to talk about the U.S.-South Korea alliance. But, you know, they’ve got a lot of ground to cover in two days. And then he’s coming back to D.C.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: With regard to the message for Putin, I think the President’s message on election interference is well known and he will be repeating it.
Q It’s Roberta Rampton with Reuters. You had mentioned that you’re there working on the communiqué, and I’m wondering whether you think it’s likely that the leaders will come to an agreement, to a joint agreement, on all of these various thorny issues.
And secondly, if I might ask about the meeting with the Crown Prince. What is the goal for that meeting? Thanks.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Roberta, thanks so much for the question. You know, this communiqué is no different than any other in that ultimately it will depend on the final outcome as to whether or not it truly reflects consensus among the G20 economies. I mean, we’re certainly here and working towards that. The President is reviewing it. And we’ll see where we get to at the end of the week.
And I’ll defer to my colleague on the question about Saudi Arabia.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: On the President’s meeting with Mohammad Bin Salman, the intent is to discuss the escalation in the region as a result of Iran’s recent provocative acts. And I think they’re exchanging views on how to address (inaudible) regional stability.
Q Hi. This is Owen Churchill with the South China Morning Post. Thanks for doing this. Perhaps a question for [senior administration official], if I may. A couple of questions. One, the first being anything you can tell us about the format of the meeting with President Xi Jinping. Will it be similar to the meeting in Buenos Aires with a formal sit-down dinner with members of the delegation?
And then the second question: Going into that meeting, what, if any, flexibility does the U.S. side have going into those discussions in order to secure the commitments from Beijing that were lost during the breakdowns in the talks in May? For example, will that be a relaxation of tariffs? Will that be on the table? Or easing of the U.S. government’s restrictions on Huawei, as the President has alluded to a couple of times over the past few months? Thanks a lot.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, thanks very much for the question. You know, in terms of format, I don’t think we have any details yet that we’re prepared to share given that things are -- you know, there are a lot of things that need to be shuffled to give every leader that President Trump meets with ample time to cover the things they need to cover. So I don’t have any details for you on that.
You know, I’ll leave it to our trade negotiators, the questions related to what they are and are not discussing ahead of the leaders getting together.
But again, you know, the goal here, as the President has said many, many times, and I’m sure he’ll make clear again, is that the purpose of these discussions is to rebalance the economic relationship in a way that protects U.S. economic prosperity and workers. And of course, that also means the kinds of structural changes that would need to take place to protect intellectual property.
It means also that there needs to be credible enforcement of any deal for their (inaudible).
Q Hi. This is Tom Howell from the Washington Times. You mentioned that Trump doesn’t have any plans to meet with Kim Jong Un, but in meeting with President Moon, what do you expect to hear from Moon? Do you expect him to offer or push for any flexibility on (inaudible) talks, or present any kind of compromise? What’s his role in this?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, thanks for the question. You know, I think that, in terms of what President Moon and President Trump will cover: You know, on North Korea, they’ll certainly compare notes of the situation in North Korea. There’s certainly -- I would imagine, that trade would be a topic of conversation as well. They’ll just be coming from Osaka. But, of course, the South Korea-U.S. trade relationship has improved quite a bit since the beginning of the year when the updated Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement was signed. So they’ll take stock of that as well.
But I don’t want to speak for President Moon and -- or guess as to his talking points. Thanks.
Q Hi. (Inaudible) with the Wall Street Journal. I know you’ve been asked a couple times about the China trade talk discussion, but do you anticipate it will be on the front-end of this visit, on the back-end? And again, if you can share any more insights into the planning on what format it will be.
And also, what essentially does the President want to get? You kind of outlined in really broad terms. I mean, is the expectation here to get restarted talks and then to move on, you know, in the coming weeks? Or do you anticipate having some sort of a more formal agreement with, essentially, a deal?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, thanks. Again, I can’t give you specific timing, although it’s more likely to be the second day. In other words, the final day of the G20 is when the U.S. and Chinese leaders will be sitting down.
And I just don’t want to get ahead of our negotiators or the President. I think that the U.S. position is well known at this point. It’s pretty well known publicly; it’s certainly well known by the Chinese. You’ve seen some of the Chinese statements that have been put out in that whitepaper a couple weeks ago, and so forth.
So, you know, I think those are important reference points of where we are, going into the G20 week. Thank you.
Q Hi. This is Lucia Leal with EFE. I was wondering if the President is planning to have any interaction or pull-asides with any of his Latin American counterparts -- the Brazilian, the Argentinian, or even the Mexican foreign minister? And secondly, will he talk about Venezuela in his meeting with President Putin?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: As I said, there’s no formal agenda for the meeting with President Putin, but Venezuela may very well be one of the subjects of discussion. I’m not aware of any other scheduled meetings with the representatives from Latin American countries, but at a meeting like this, it is normal that there is interaction with all of the participants.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah. I wouldn’t say the list I provided earlier is exhausted. There could be additions. Thanks. Next question.
Q Yes. Hi, this is Haik Gugarats with Argus Media. I’m curious if you expect the President and the delegation to raise a new initiative on enhancing maritime security for oil shipping in the Middle East, and what sort of commitments do you expect to get if so.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks. I suspect that regional stability is going to be a topic of conversation with regional and international partners over the course of several engagements, including the G20.
I know Secretary Pompeo has been in the region, as you know, traveling in order to ascertain both the nature of the threat and the willingness of regional partners and those with an economic stake in the free and sustained access to the region’s resources.
And I think that it’s preliminary. I don’t think we’ve gotten to the point yet where we’ve got a concrete request or demand from the parties in question, including those that were recently attacked by Iran, in the case of the six vessels over the last four weeks.
But I do think that there will be a focus in the conversation, as Secretary Pompeo has laid the foundations to obtain broader consensus on securing freedom of navigation in the Middle East that Iran has recently threatened. Thanks.
Q Yes, hi. Following up on that question, will there be any specific asks at all of any country in terms of the number of ships or the amount of security they may provide?
And secondly, will there be any discussion of release from sanctions waivers on Iran -- Iranian crude oil?
Q So, to the second part of the question first, I’m not aware of any requests for additional waivers. Our intent on specifically petroleum is to go to zero, as you know, and we’re well on our way to doing it.
I’d point out that, at the inauguration, Iran was exporting, on average, 2.5 million barrels a day per month, and they’re now, according to June -- commercial available data -- under 400,000 barrels per day over the course of the month. So a significant impact, but we’re not done yet. And as the actions the President took today on the Supreme Leader and his Office indicate, we will continue (inaudible) on economic pressure.
To your second point in terms of specific requests, I’d defer you to the countries themselves. So, we have yet to receive a request formally from a nation asking for escort accompaniment or reflagging for the purpose of securing their transit through the Strait.
But we have been in discussions with our partners, our allies, and those affected by the threat that Iran constitutes to freedom of navigation. And so, the discussions will continue. But I’m, as yet, unaware of a specific request, but we are familiar with what we have been required to do in the past, unfortunately, in order to protect international shipping from the Iranian threat, and it is certainly something that is under active consideration. But as yet, no specifics have been released. Thanks.
Q Hi. It’s Don Lee from the LA Times. You said that the President would be quite comfortable with any outcome from his talks with President Xi. And so I just want to understand -- so he’d be quite comfortable if there’s no progress and no redemption of negotiations and tariffs if $300 billion more of goods take effect?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, I’d refer you to the President’s comments. He’s comfortable that we’re in a strong position. The tariffs that he’s put in place -- and remember, the original purpose of those tariffs were to address theft of American intellectual property. It was designed to address the forced technology transfers by American companies. They're basically coercing American companies to give up their intellectual properties as the price of gaining access to the Chinese market.
That was some of the original intent. And China, unwisely, decided to retaliate against that. And so President imposed other tariffs. We’re collecting a lot of money for that. We’ve seen a lot of companies leaving China. And the U.S. economy is stronger than it’s been in many, many decades, so he’s quite comfortable with his vision going into this meeting.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: This is [senior administration official] on the trade side, just to, you know, agree with everything that my colleague has said. And ultimately, the President has been quite clear that he needs to see structural, real reform in China across a number of issues and a number of sectors. And nothing about that has changed. The fact that the talks broke down in May hasn’t changed that as the ultimate goal of where this would need to go.
So the two leaders will get together, assess where they’re at, and then go from there.
MR. BROWN: Thanks. Appreciate everybody joining today. Just to reiterate the ground rules: It was on background, and attribution is to a senior administration official. And, as the call is concluding, the embargo is lifted. Thanks so much for being here. Appreciate it.
END 7:05 P.M. EDT
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