Saturday, August 24, 2019

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP WILL WORK WITH G7 ALLIES TO BUILD A FUTURE OF OPPORTUNITY AND PROMISE FOR ALL OUR NATIONS

Office of the Press Secretary

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP WILL WORK WITH G7 ALLIES TO BUILD A FUTURE OF OPPORTUNITY AND PROMISE FOR ALL OUR NATIONS

“Each of our nations is totally unique with our people and our own sovereign obligations. But we can coordinate together and achieve a common good.” – President Donald J. Trump 


WORKING WITH G7 PARTNERS: President Donald J. Trump will meet with leaders of G7 nations to further our cooperation and relations with several of the world’s largest economies.  

  • President Trump will work with our partners during this year’s G7 to chart a course for growth and prosperity around the world.
  • President Trump will use the G7 as an opportunity to work with our fellow G7 nations to:
    • Promote economic prosperity based on President Trump’s pro-growth model.
    • Tackle the rise of unfair trade practices to achieve free, fair, and reciprocal trade.
    • Encourage the economic empowerment of women around the world.
    • Lead sustainable development and security efforts. 
    • Incentivize innovation in the global economy.  
    • Support economic growth, energy security, and responsible environmental protection.
PROMOTING GROWTH AND PROSPERITY: America’s economic revival under President Trump is an example for other nations to follow.  
  • President Trump has led the way in enacting pro-jobs, pro-growth policies that generate prosperity for all citizens.
  • President Trump’s policies are adding millions of new jobs to our economy and bringing American industries back to life.
    • More than 6 million jobs have been added since President Trump’s election.
    • More than $800 billion has been brought back to the United States since the President’s historic tax cuts.
  • The President wants other nations to share in our success and urges leaders around the world to implement policies like tax reform and deregulation that promote strong economic growth.
  • Growth and prosperity in other nations is good for the United States – we benefit when strong, stable markets for American goods exist worldwide.
ACHIEVING FREE, FAIR, AND RECIPROCAL TRADE: President Trump is committed to promoting free, fair, and reciprocal trade for both the United States and the world.
  • The President is committed to working with our G7 partners to tackle the rise of unfair trade practices.
  • It is vital that we work together to combat unfair practices like industrial subsidies, state-directed economic activity, forced technology transfer, and more.
  • The United States is committed to achieving reforms to the World Trade Organization (WTO) that ensure the organization functions as originally agreed by its members.
    • Wealthy countries should not be able to take advantage of WTO rules by claiming to be “developing” in order to gain an unfair advantage.
PRIORITIZING WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT: President Trump wants to ensure that all women are empowered to fully and freely participate in the global economy.
  • At the G7, the United States will reaffirm our strong commitment to the economic empowerment of women around the globe and urge other nations to do the same.
  • The Trump Administration has launched a number of initiatives – like the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative spearheaded by Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump – that seek to empower women.
  • Nations that empower women to participate fully in civic and economic life are more prosperous and peaceful – benefiting us all.
  • The United States seeks to eliminate barriers that hinder women from fully and freely participating in their local economies.
LEADING ON DEVELOPMENT AND SECURITY: The United States is committed to supporting responsible development and security assistance. 
  • President Trump is committed to implementing sustainable, private-sector-led economic development programs that will help grow the developing world.
    • President Trump signed the BUILD Act to reform, expand, and modernize our country’s development finance tools to spur private-sector-led development.
    • Through programs like Prosper Africa initiative, we are working with the private sector to produce sustainable and transparent development.
    • State-led economic development models – as opposed to private-sector-led – often saddle countries with unsustainable debt.
  • The United States applauds the efforts of our partners and the international community to promote peace and stability in Africa.
    • In recent years, the United States has provided billions to help provide security assistance in the Sahel region.
ENCOURAGING INNOVATION: America has the most innovative economy in the world, led by President Trump’s policies aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship and ingenuity.
  • President Trump believes that countries should adopt policies that enhance, not stifle, innovation and embrace digitization, data, and competitive technologies.
    • Emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence, will have a positive, meaningful impact on the American people.
  • We should promote positive development through new technologies, while also ensuring these technologies are not misused to repress the rights of citizens.
  • President Trump is committed to working with other countries to find solutions to the challenges presented by the increasing digitalization of the global economy.
  • The United States condemns the actions of countries who unfairly and unilaterally punish American digital companies.
TAKING A BALANCED APPROACH: President Trump is advancing an all-of-the-above energy policy that balances economic growth, energy security, and environmental stewardship.
  • The United States energy and environmental record is one of the strongest in the world, generating strong economic growth and energy production, while lowering emissions.
  • Through our approach, we are providing access to the affordable, reliable energy that has fueled our economic resurgence.
    • We will continue this approach by supporting investment in innovative technologies and high-quality infrastructure that reduce emissions and promote economic growth.
  • Last year President Trump signed the Save Our Seas Act, which promotes international action to reduce marine debris and authorizes action to address severe marine debris events.
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REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AND PRESIDENT MACRON OF FRANCE IN WORKING LUNCHEON Hotel du Palais Biarritz, France


Office of the Press Secretary

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
AND PRESIDENT MACRON OF FRANCE
IN WORKING LUNCHEON

Hotel du Palais
Biarritz, France

 


 

2:16 P.M. CEST

     PRESIDENT MACRON:  In a few words, in order to (inaudible) -- Mr. President, first of all, I do welcome Mr. President and his wife, and we are very proud and happy to have you here in Biarritz, in this place, for the G7 and once again very happy to (inaudible).  You are a very special guest for us, and now, at this occasion, (inaudible) are very important.

     On this occasion, obviously for us, (inaudible) a lot of crisis.  We will discuss Libya, Syria, Ukraine, North Korea, and Iran.  A lot of these crises that we need a strong coordination of and partners on the table.  And especially on Iran, we have to fix the situation, and we had a lot of (inaudible), and we have to work very hard because I see we do share the same objectives.  First, being sure that Iran don’t get access to nuclear weapon.  And second, stability of the region.

     We will discuss, as well, about the economic global situation, how to decrease tensions and fix the situation in terms of trade (inaudible), because I think if we manage to fix the situation, seven of us -- we fix a great part of the world.  And this is a very important (inaudible) of our discussion as well, and obviously how to find new ways to relaunch our economic (inaudible).

     When I look at Europe, especially, we need some new tools to relaunch our economy.  We decided, and (inaudible) probably decide to have new tax cuts, which is one of the ways to relaunch.  We have strong coordination with (inaudible).

     And, third, obviously, we will discuss a lot of things at the G7: gender equality, digital, and how to (inaudible) this new world with common initiative together.  And, obviously, climate and bio (inaudible), and a lot of these hot topics.  And with this (inaudible), we know the (inaudible) we can have on climate, on the various agenda.

     But our cooperation (inaudible) our investors will (inaudible).  And I think, during the sessions, we will actually see in order to have some solutions to (inaudible), and implementation of this (inaudible) and all these climate protections for this global agenda.

     But thanks again, Mr. President, for taking the time being here and being a partner.  So this discussion will be very important between the allies, friends, and very importantly, we are always very proud to have the (inaudible) the U.S. (inaudible).

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you, Emmanuel.  Very nice.  And we look forward to it.  And we actually have a lot in common, Emmanuel and I.  We've been friends for a long time.  And every once in a while, we go at it just a little bit -- not very much. But we get along very well.  We have a very good relationship.  Sort of, I think I can say, a special relationship.

     We all remember the Eiffel Tower dinner, and that was a very good beginning.  And we have some really great things to talk about.  And we couldn’t have asked for better weather or a more beautiful location.  And next year, we'll be hosting in the United States, so that will be very -- very good.  That'll be great.  We'll do a good job.

     But so far, so good.  The weather is perfect.  The guest is fantastic.  Everybody is getting along.  And I think we'll accomplish a lot this weekend, and I look forward to it.  And thank you for having us.

     PRESIDENT MACRON:  Thank you.  Thank you, Donald.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you very much.


                             END            2:20 P.M. CEST

 

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP BEFORE MARINE ONE DEPARTURE

Office of the Press Secretary
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
BEFORE MARINE ONE DEPARTURE

South Lawn

August 23, 2019

 
11:03 P.M. EDT

     THE PRESIDENT:  We're going to France.  We're going to have a good few days.  I think it will be very productive seeing a lot of the leaders, who are friends of mine, for the most part.  I wouldn’t say in a hundred percent of the cases, but for the most part.

And I think we're doing very well.  Our economy is doing great.

We're having a little spat with China, and we'll win it.  We put a lot of tariffs on China today, as you know.  They put some on us; we put a lot on them.  We're up to about $550 billion.  They've been hitting us for many, many years -- for over $500 billion a year -- taking out of our country much more than $500 billion a year.  So, we want that stopped.  Okay?

     Q    Do you still want to (inaudible) China next month?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we'll see what happens.  At this moment, they want to do that.  So we'll see what happens.  If they want to have talks, we cert- -- I'm always open to talk.

     Q    What authority (inaudible) tariffing companies (inaudible)?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, in 1977, we had an act passed -- a National Emergency Act.  I have the absolute right to do that.  We'll see how that goes.  But I have the absolute right.  1977 -- check it out.

     Q    (Inaudible.)

     THE PRESIDENT:  No, I think our tariffs are very good for us.  We're taking in tens of billions of dollars.  China is paying for it.  They're, as you know, manipulating their currency.  I think that our tariffs are working out very well for us.  People don’t understand that yet.

     At the same time, China has had the worst -- the worst year probably in anywhere from 30 to 50 years.  Their worst year.  And they want to make a deal.

     Q    (Inaudible) Jay Powell?

     THE PRESIDENT:  No, I'm not happy with Jay Powell.  I don’t think he's doing a good job at all.  I don’t think he's much of a chess player.  But, I've got him, so, you know, that’s what I have.  That’s what I have.  What can I tell you?  He's not much of a chess player.

Q    In the summit, sir -- (inaudible) Japan (inaudible)?

THE PRESIDENT:  I'm going to see Prime Minster Abe.  I look forward to it.  He's a great gentleman.  He's a great friend of mine.

     Q    South Korea ended military intelligence agreement with Japan.  Are you worried about that?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we're going to -- we’re going to see what happens.  President Moon also a very good friend of mine.  And we'll see what happens with South Korea.

     Q    Did Kim Jong Un break a promise to you by doing further missile testing?

     THE PRESIDENT:  No, I don’t think so.  I think that we have a very good relationship.  We’ll see what happens.  That could always change, but we'll see what happens.

Kim Jong Un has been, you know, pretty straight with me, I think.  And we're going to see what's going on.  We're going to see what’s happening.  He likes testing missiles.  But we never restricted short-range missiles.  We'll see what happens.  Many nations test those missiles.  We tested a very big one the other day, as you probably noticed.

     Q    Six hundred and twenty-three points -- that’s what the Dow was down today because of what you tweeted.  Do you have a responsibility for that?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Not at all.  Not at all.  Because if you look at from November 9th -- the day after the election -- we're up 50 percent or more.  We're up many, many points.  We were at about sixteen or seventeen thousand.  We're at 25,000, so don’t tell me about 600 points.

     Q    Do you have a message for Justice Ginsburg?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Say it?

     Q    Do you have a message for Justice Ginsburg?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I hope she does really well.  And our thoughts and prayers are with her.  And it's a very serious situation.  I'm hoping she's going to be fine.  She's pulled through a lot.  She's strong, very tough.  But we wish her well -- very well.

     Q    Mr. President, are you going to talk to President Macron about the technology tax (inaudible)?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, I am.  I don’t like what France did.  They put a technology tax on our tech company.  And it's not that I'm the biggest fan of the techs companies -- the tech companies, because, as you know, they were very much opposed to the Republicans, and they are very much opposed.

Somebody came in the other day and said the election that we had in '16 with Hillary Clinton, that it could’ve cost me anywhere from 2,600 -- from 2,600,000 votes to, I think, it went up to close to either ten or maybe fifteen million votes.

So I'm not a big fan of the tech companies, but I don't want foreign companies and foreign countries -- I don’t want them doing anything having to do with taxing unfairly our companies.  Those are great American companies.  And, frankly, I don’t want France going out and taxing our companies.  Very unfair.

And if they do that, we'll be taxing their wine or doing something else.  We'll be taxing their wine like they've never seen before.  I don’t like it.  That’s for us to tax them.  It's not for France to tax them.

Other than that, I have a very good relationship with, as you know, with Macron -- as you say.  And I think we're going to have a very good couple of days.  I look forward to being in France.

Q    What did you mean yesterday when you said you were the "chosen one"?  Did you mean it in a biblical sense?

THE PRESIDENT:  Let me tell you, you know exactly what I meant.  It was sarcasm.  It was joking.  We were all smiling.  And a question like that is just fake news.  You're just a faker.

Q    Are you interested in changing your ideas about giving reparations to African Americans in this country?

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I never stated my idea, so you tell me what my ideas were.  I never stated them.  They're your ideas.

Q    Okay well --

THE PRESIDENT:  So don’t -- no, no, no, no.  Don’t put a question like that.  I've never stated my ideas, so don’t put the question like that.

Q    Do you want Powell to resign?

THE PRESIDENT:  Say it?

Q    Do you want Powell to resign?  Do you want Powell to resign, sir?

THE PRESIDENT:  Do I want him to resign?  Let me put it this way: If he did, I wouldn’t stop him.

Q    President Xi -- you referred to him as Chairman Xi today.  You get along well with him, you do business with him.  I think you maybe even called him a friend at one point.  Today you implied that he's an enemy, along with Jay Powell.  Is he an enemy or a friend?

THE PRESIDENT:  He's a very good competitor, but we're going to win.

Q    Mr. President, why did you decide not to pursue your foreign aid cuts?  Your decision package for the foreign aid cuts -- why did you decide not to cut?

THE PRESIDENT:  We’re going to be spending that money in different ways than you think.  But rather than renegotiating everything again, I'm going to do it the way I just said.  We'll be distributing that money differently.

Q    (Inaudible) Danish Prime Minister?

THE PRESIDENT:  Called me.  A wonderful woman.  We had a great conversation.  We have a very good relationship with Denmark.  And we agreed to speak later.  But she was very nice.  She put a call in, and I appreciated it very much.

Q    (Inaudible) with China?

THE PRESIDENT:  Look, China has been hurting our country for 30 years with the money they've been taking out.  Other Presidents should've done something about it, and they should’ve done it a long time ago, whether it was Clinton or Bush or Obama -- any of them.  They should've done something about it.  And they didn’t.  I'm doing it.  And I have no choice, because we're not going to lose close to a trillion dollars a year to China.  And China understands that.

I hope that with President Xi -- I have a good relationship, but they understand we're not going to do it.  And this is more important than anything else right now -- just about -- that we're working on.

We have to make sure that our taxpayer -- look, we have helped rebuild China like nobody else.  And they've done a great job.  And I don’t blame China.  I blame our Presidents, our representatives, past administrations, for allowing that to happen.  It's a disgrace.
 
                             END               11:12 P.M. EDT
 

The White House Photos of the Week August 18 - 23, 2019

Office of the Press Secretary
Photos of the Week


Sunday, August 18, 2019

President Donald J. Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and Barron Trump walk across the South Lawn of the White House after disembarking Marine One Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019, following their trip to Bedminster, N.J. (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour) 
  
 
Monday, August 19, 2019

Vice President Mike Pence, joined by Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson, surprises Candy Carson with birthday cupcakes Monday, Aug. 19, 2019, aboard Air Force Two en route to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Mich. (Official White House Photo by D. Myles Cullen) 
  
 

Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson, and John James talk with residents from Secretary Carson’s childhood neighborhood Monday, Aug. 19, 2019, in Detroit, Mich. (Official White House Photo by D. Myles Cullen) 
  
 
Tuesday, August 20, 2019

President Donald J. Trump walks with President Klaus Iohannis of Romania Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019, along the Colonnade of the White House.  (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks) 
  
 

President Donald J. Trump speaks with reporters during a bilateral meeting with President Klaus Iohannis of Romania Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019, in the Oval Office of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead) 
  
 

President Donald J. Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence, participates in an expanded bilateral meeting with President Klaus Iohannis of Romania Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019, in the Cabinet Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead) 
  
 

Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks at the 6th meeting of the National Space Council Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Va.  (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour) 
  
 

Vice President Mike Pence participates in the 6th meeting of the National Space Council Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Va.  (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour) 
  
 
Wednesday, August 21, 2019

President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks at the American Veterans (AMVETS) 75th National Convention prior to signing a Presidential Memorandum “Discharging the Federal Student Loan Debt of Totally and Permanently Disabled Veterans” Wednesday, Aug, 21, 2019, at The Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Ky. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead) 
  
 

Veterans listen as President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks at the American Veterans (AMVETS) 75th National Convention prior to signing a Presidential Memorandum “Discharging the Federal Student Loan Debt of Totally and Permanently Disabled Veterans” Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019, at The Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Ky. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead) 
  
 

President Donald J. Trump is joined by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, and members of the American Veterans (AMVETS) leadership as he signs a Presidential Memorandum “Discharging the Federal Student Loan Debt of Totally and Permanently Disabled Veterans” Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019, during the AMVETS 75th National Convention at The Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Ky. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead) 
  
 

Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks at the “USMCA: A Better Deal for American Workers” event Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019, at Elite Well Services LLC in Artesia, N.M. (Official White House Photo by D. Myles Cullen) 
  
 

Vice President Mike Pence poses for a photo with Border Patrol Agent Julie Gallagher and Mike Gallagher, the sister and father of fallen Border Patrol Agent Michael Gallagher Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019, at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, N.M. Gallagher, a United States Army veteran, was killed in the line of duty by a drunk driver in 2010. (Official White House Photo by D. Myles Cullen) 
  
 
Thursday, August 22, 2019

President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks during the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony for legendary Hall of Fame Boston Celtics basketball player Robert “Bob” Cousy Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019, in the Oval Office of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead) 
  
 

President Donald J. Trump presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to legendary Hall of Fame Boston Celtics basketball player Robert “Bob” Cousy Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019, in the Oval Office of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian) 
  
 

Vice President Mike Pence meets with leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019, at The Grand American Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Official White House Photo by D. Myles Cullen) 
  
 

Vice President Mike Pence greets employees during a tour of Merit Medical Systems Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019, in South Jordan, Utah. (Official White House Photo by D. Myles Cullen) 
  
 

Vice President Mike Pence meets with Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross aboard Air Force Two Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019, en route to Joint Base Andrews, Md. (Official White House Photo by D. Myles Cullen) 
  
 

President Donald J. Trump Amends Florida Disaster Declaration

Office of the Press Secretary
President Donald J. Trump Amends Florida Disaster Declaration
 
Today, President Donald J. Trump made additional disaster assistance available to the State of Florida by authorizing an increase in the level of Federal funding for Public Assistance projects undertaken in the State of Florida as a result of Hurricane Irma during the period of September 4 to October 18, 2017.

Under the President's order today, the Federal share for Public Assistance has been increased to 90 percent of the total eligible costs, except assistance previously approved at 100 percent.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT:  FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV

BACKGROUND PRESS CALL BY SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ON THE G7 SUMMIT

Office of the Press Secretary
BACKGROUND PRESS CALL BY
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS
ON THE G7 SUMMIT

Via Teleconference

August 22, 2019 

 
2:01 P.M. EDT

     SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hey.  Good afternoon everybody, and thanks for joining the call.  We have a number of senior administration officials here to brief you today.

     I just want to go over the ground rules.  First, this is provided on background, so attribution would be to “senior administration officials.”  The contents are embargoed until the end of the call so please observe that.  And as each speaker comes on the line, they’ll identify themselves and their title just for simplicity.

     Okay.  So, with that, we’ll turn to our first speaker.  [Senior administration official], please take it away.

     SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure.  Thank you so much, [senior administration official].  And I guess it’s morning or good afternoon there, everyone.  I am now in Biarritz, France.  I’m the [redacted].

     So what I wanted to do is start by outlining the schedule of events and various sessions that are taking place over the next few days.  And then I will go through and highlight some of the key themes that the President is going to be talking about and pushing out while he is here over the weekend.

     So I will start with the first event, which is Saturday night.  France has organized an informal dinner of G7 leaders, and it’s just the leaders.  They’ll have a chance to talk about important issues related to foreign policy and security affairs.

     The next event will be a session on Sunday morning where they will be talking about global economy and following up on any foreign policy and security affairs issues.  And this is a session that was added at the last minute at the request of the United States to talk about issues related to the global economy.

     After that, there will be a session called, “Fighting Against Inequalities,” which covers issues related to gender inequality and other -- with respect to access to opportunities in the marketplace.  It will be a working lunch with the G7 economies, plus a number of international organizations.

In the afternoon, there will be another session on G7 and the Africa partnership where France has invited a number of countries -- Senegal, Egypt, Burkina Faso, South Africa, and Rwanda -- to participate and join the G7 countries to talk about issues that are of importance to the continent.

     After that, there will be a family photo and an informal dinner among all of the invited economies, as well as the international organizations.

     Monday, August 26th, will be the last day.  The first session there is on climate biodiversity and oceans, followed by another session -- a working lunch -- on digital transformation.  And then a closing session of just the G7 economies, followed by a press conference.

     So that’s the run of show.  And in terms of what you can expect from us -- I highlighted it right at the beginning of my remarks on the schedule -- the G7 is a forum that was really created to address the international shock to the economy that happened during the oil crisis.  And then, from there, it served as an effective forum to address various financial crises and to look at issues related to global growth, the currency stability, and the like.  And it’s really begun to grow over the past few decades to address issues related to foreign policy and a host of other issues.

But really, the core of the G7 is about global growth and how the world’s most advanced and industrialized nations can get together and tackle common challenges and problems -- really deliver a message about where they see the state of the economy going.

So in this first session, you will really hear the President hit home the message of the pro-jobs, pro-growth economic agenda and what he’s done by way of the historic tax reform, deregulation, investment policies, a focus on energy, and free, fair, and reciprocal trade.  These are critical agenda items that the President has done domestically.  We’ve seen the results.  We’ve seen hundreds of thousands of jobs coming back to the U.S. economy.  And we’ve seen growth rates that we didn’t think were possible just a few years ago.

And you can contrast this to what’s happening in Europe, where growth is effectively flat.  And you’ll have the President really engaging in honest conversations with European allies and colleagues about what we can do, not only to grow growth at home, but also to open up European and Japanese and Canadian markets as well to ensure that U.S. workers and businesses have markets in which they can sell their goods and services, and that, as we grow, we are taking our allies with us.

So in addition to growth and trade, he will also be talking about things like multilateral reform.  The President has really been the key driver of highlighting the need for the WTO to come into the 21st century, both in terms of members living up to their commitments -- in terms of really taking on the full commitment of the agreements, as developed countries -- as well as tackling new rules and really taking a hard look at whether the institution is equipped to address the challenges of non-market economies and the new digital economy.

There will also be significant emphasis on what these economies -- the G7 economies can do to really write the rules for this century, in contrast to the unfair trade practices that we see coming out of China, the industrial subsidies, state-directed economic activity, forced tech transfer, IP theft, and all of the things that President Trump has really been a (inaudible) leader in trying to address, not just for America, but for the rest of the modern world.

In addition to the economy broadly, the President will also be driving home a message of promoting economic opportunities for women all over the world.  I mean, this is a huge priority for this administration.  You’ve seen it in the launch of W-GDP, our commitment as a founding member to We-Fi, through 2X Africa -- a number of initiatives.  And that’s because we’re leaving $12 trillion on the table, in terms of global economic growth, by not allowing women, in equal opportunity, to participate in the global marketplace.

As the President has said many times, societies that empower women to participate fully in civic and economic life are more prosperous and more peaceful.  And that’s a method that we really want to drive home this weekend in France.

So in addition to women’s economic empowerment, there is a huge emphasis on what we can do in Africa.  And that is in part highlighted by President Macron’s decision to invite five African economies to join with the G7 countries and have an honest conversation about issues related to anti-corruption; to peace, stability, and security in the Sahel region; as well as development, finance, and infrastructure.

We’ve got a lot of positive messages there.  We recently passed the BUILD Act.  We are continuing to pour in significant aid to the region, as well as $5 billion in capacity to the Sahel countries to provide security and essential services.

We are proud of everything that we’re doing there, from our joint forces, to providing for education, and really helping the people of the region to coordinate amongst themselves and to help facilitate their own prosperity and economic growth.

So in addition to those issues, certainly challenges related to the digital economy and innovation will be on the table.  We have one of the most innovative economies in the world.  President Trump’s pro-jobs, pro-growth agenda has unleashed entrepreneurship.  We provide opportunities for our tech companies -- not overregulation, over-taxation.

I know for a fact that the President will also be raising the digital services tax here in France, which has become quite a point of the interest in conversation between himself and President Macron.

The United States -- we’re fully committed to the OECD process, and it is very disappointing that countries like France are seeking to undermine the ability of those negotiations to succeed by adopting their unilateral taxation measures really at the expense of U.S. companies, insofar as some of the rhetoric surrounding them has specifically been targeted at our companies.
   
President Trump certainly wants to see a global solution to that issue, which he’ll keep pushing, but he is also not going to back down in the face of countries like France going after our industry.

     Another issue that I think you’ll hear him talk a lot about is the environment.  It is one where we have one of the best records on Earth when it comes to biodiversity, clean air, water, and even on climate and carbon emission.  You know, our carbon emissions have dropped 14 percent since 2005.  At the same time, our economy has grown nearly 20 percent.  We have a winning record on the environment, but we don’t think that environmental protection needs to necessarily cost economic growth or energy security and dominance.  And we have a proven track record across all of those.
   
     So we have a lot of great messages to put out there.  There will be a lot of very interesting conversations to be had among the leaders, both in the sessions themselves and at the margin.

     And with that, I’ll turn it back over to my colleague to talk about some of the bilateral meetings that are planned.

     SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks.  So, while the President is attending the G7 Summit, we anticipate that he will conduct a number of meetings with world leaders.  And that list, which is not completely fleshed out, will include meetings with Prime Minister Johnson of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Macron of France, Prime Minister Abe of Japan, Prime Minister Modi of India, Chancellor Merkel of Germany, and Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada.

     And, with that, I’ll pass the baton over to my colleague to talk about the European bilats.

     SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Good afternoon, everyone.  Just a few words on the European bilats.  In each of these meetings, the President is going to be emphasizing the overall messages that my colleague has described, and his agenda of improving world trade and prosperity.  Those will be particular points of emphasis.

     With Prime Minister Johnson, I would note that this will be the first face-to-face meeting that he has had with the President since becoming Prime Minister.  And the priority will be on discussing the ongoing, very close partnership that the U.S. and United Kingdom enjoy, and on ways that we are going to take that forward and enhance it in the future.

     In particular, as might be guessed, there will be discussion of the upcoming exit of the UK from the European Union -- what that will mean, how we will work together to manage that process as effectively as possible while enhancing our bilateral relationship.  And in particular, we will be talking about the possibility of a free trade agreement or free trade agreements to be negotiated between our two countries.  We -- we’re very enthusiastic about that prospect; the President is.  And we would like to be able to make some progress.

     In the meeting with the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, they will be following on previous discussions that they’ve had with great frequency, covering a wide-range of issues.  In particular, they are going to be talking about trade and the importance of removing European barriers through trade in the agriculture and other sectors.

     The President will raise, as my colleague mentioned, the highly discriminatory digital services tax that France has decided upon.  This is a barrier to achieving progress in a global regime on digital services and it’s highly counterproductive at this time.

     They will also be discussing regional security issues, particularly in the Middle East and in North Africa and the possibilities for a partnership to make the situations in those places better.

     With German Chancellor Merkel, again, trade will be a very important element of that discussion.  They will also be covering energy security and the importance of diminishing European reliance on Russian gas sources.  And they will be discussing European security and the importance of all countries who meet NATO’s 2 percent of GDP defense spending goal.

     So, that’s it for the Europeans.

     SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Okay.  Now I’d like to turn to my colleague to discuss the Indian -- meeting with Prime Minister Modi.

     SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hi, this is [senior administration official].  President Trump is very much looking forward to his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi, where they will discuss the strategic partnership and how they can cooperate more closely on issues like defense cooperation, counterterrorism, and trade.

     We expect the two leaders to build on the very productive discussions they had in Osaka at the G20, as well as the phone call that they held earlier this week.  They will look for solutions on the trade front.  The U.S. is looking to India to reduce tariffs and open its markets.

We do expect the issue of India-Pakistan relations to come up.  The President will likely want to hear from Prime Minister Modi on how he plans to reduce regional tensions and uphold respect for human rights for Kashmir, as part of India’s role as the world’s largest democracy.

India’s decision to rescind Article 370 in Kashmir is an internal decision, but certainly with regional implications.  And President Trump will likely want to hear how Prime Minister Modi intends to calm regional tensions in light of this significant move.

     The President is likely to stress the need for dialogue among all sides of the conflict and his hope that India would lift the communications and movement restrictions in Kashmir and exercise the utmost restraint in dealing with potential protests.  And certainly, President Trump is also calling on Pakistan to prevent the infiltration of militants across the line of control that divides Kashmir and to crack down on groups on its territory that have attacked India in the past.

     That’s all I have to say and I look forward to any potential questions.

     SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I’ll be talking about the President’s meeting with Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada.  This will be the President’s meeting with the Prime Minister shortly before Trudeau’s campaign -- the Canadian campaign -- formally begins that will be set formally to begin at some point no later than September 15th, with an election in Canada on October 21st.

     It goes without saying the United States and Canada are very close friends and partners.  In fact, today, Secretary Pompeo is in Ottawa meeting with Prime Minister Trudeau and Foreign Minister Freeland.  The President hosted the Prime Minister at the White House on June 20th and the two leaders spoke by phone just last week.

     During their bilateral meeting on the margins of the G7, they’ll discuss a wide range of issues, to include trade -- in particular, their shared support for the historic United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.  They will discuss ways to increase pressure on Maduro in Venezuela.  And they will also discuss the political situation in Hong Kong, where 300,000 Canadian citizens reside.

     So, any questions, I’m happy to answer.  Thank you.

     SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  And back to [senior administration official] to discuss the bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Abe and to wrap up.

     SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure.  Well, I think my colleagues did a great job covering the rest of the President’s schedule.  And he certainly will be meeting with Prime Minister Abe, who he has a great relationship with.  The two have met frequently over the past few years and discussed a number of important issues related to China and North Korea.

     I think trade is certainly on both of their minds right now and ways that we can work together to open up markets for U.S. workers and farmers.  And we’ll see where they get to, but I know they have a lot in common, a lot of shared priorities, and it will be a really terrific meeting.

     SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Okay, thanks.  So we’d -- we’re open to questions on the G7 now, moderator, if you could queue everyone up.

     Q    Hi.  This is Andrew Feinberg with Breakfast Media.  Thanks for doing this.  On the G7 itself, the sessions, I had two questions.  First, regarding the Monday session on climate: Does the President still believe that the concept of global warming is created by and for the Chinese to make U.S. manufacturing noncompetitive?

And my second question is, will any of the President’s family members be participating in any of the G7 sessions this year?

     SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure.  I guess that’s for me.  You know, the President is very proud to talk about our strong record on the environment.  And as I highlighted at the top, we have one of the best records in the world, including on the issues related to climate.  And I think the G7 provides another opportunity for all of our economies to come together and talk about that shared priority and ways that we can continue to move forward.

But again, environmental protection -- we have a clear record -- doesn’t need to come at the expense of global growth and energy stability.  And I think that we have a balanced approach that works and the President is going to be really engaged with his colleagues in talking about all of that.

     With respect to questions about the delegation, I don’t have information on that at this time.

Thank you.

     Q    Hi, this is Shirish Date at the HuffPost.  I was curious about a couple of things that have happened in the past few weeks.  The President claimed that he'd spoken with Prime Minister Modi and the Prime Minister had asked him to get involved in the Kashmir dispute.  It came almost immediately afterwards, the Indian foreign minister put out a statement: Well, no, that had actually never happened.

The other day we had a report that the President had spoken with French President Macron.  And that Macron had said, "Yeah, we should invite the Russians back into the G8."  And then, the French said, no, that actually never happened either.  What is going on?  And how damaging is this to the President and the country's credibility?  Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yes.  I can take the question -- the first part of the question on Prime Minister Modi.

So the United States is watching the situation in Kashmir very closely.  We're continuing to call for calm and restraint, including on rhetoric.  But we note the broader implications of the developments in Jammu and Kashmir, and the potential for increased stability in the region.  So the President is very focused on this situation, these issues.  And what he has indicated -- that he is ready to assist if both sides are interested in helping to reduce their tensions.

But we just note that India has not requested any formal mediation.  But the President has said, you know, he's friends with both leaders -- both Prime Minister Khan of Pakistan and Prime Minister Modi of India.  And he stands ready to assist if they both would like him to do so.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  With regard to Russia, Russia was suspended from what was then the G8 for reasons that are well known.  There has been discussion, I believe, coming from the French to about when it would be time for Russia to rejoin, if ever.

So that may very well come up, but the key factor here is that the Russians themselves have not asked to rejoin.  So I would expect that should happen first.

Q    Thanks a lot for doing the call.  This is Dmitry Kirsanov with TASS.  As a follow-up to that, I just wanted to ask what exactly President Trump is going to convey to his G7 counterparts when it comes to Russia?  Is he suggesting that Russia should be brought back into G7 fold, so to say?  And what kind of discussion do you expect in France when it comes to the relations with Russia?  Thanks.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I think the President did speak to this issue this week already.  I mean, he said that, you know, it would be a good thing if the Russians were there, given the fact that the G7 spends a significant amount of time talking about security and economic issues.  But he's not necessarily opining one way or the other, and we don’t really have anything further to add at this time.  Thank you.

Q    Hi, this is Scott Waldman with E&E News.  Will President Trump sign on to the climate agreement with other G7 leaders, since that's been an issue in the past?  And, if not, what science is he relying upon to reject the notion that climate change poses an existential threat to humans and requires international intervention to address?

Also, it's worth noting that greenhouse gas emissions have risen under the Trump administration last year, so I'm wondering if there's any plans in place to reduce those.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure.  This is [senior administration official] again.  I guess I’m not sure what climate agreement you’re referring to.  I mean, President Macron has made clear that he is not issuing a joint communiqué for leaders for this G7 summit.

     I did identify a number of topics that we anticipate leaders will be discussing, and certainly, the environment, oceans, and climate are one of them.  And again, our carbon emissions have dropped.  We have a really strong record in this space and President Trump is looking forward to discussing this message, along with economic growth and energy dominance and stability and security, with his colleagues.  Thank you.

     Q    Hi.  This is Anne Gearan with the Washington Post.  I guess this will probably go to [senior administration official], but I’m interested in that first session you mentioned for Saturday morning -- the one that came at the request at the United States.  Can you give us a little bit more on the agenda and say whether this is related to any U.S. concerns about weakness in its own economy?  Thank you.

     SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure.  Thanks for the question.  Yeah, the reason this came at the request of the United States is because we think that the global economy really is one of the core features of the G7 and really should stay the focus.

So I would imagine issues related to global growth -- pro-job, pro-growth policies; tax reform; deregulation; investment policies; currency stability; certainly trade and many of the barriers and their practices that we’re seeing coming out of China and we’re collectively facing -- will be on the agenda as well.  And certainly WTO reform and the need to have to have institutions that can keep up with a modern economy.

     But I would anticipate President Trump will be speaking quite frankly about the policies he’s seen work in his own economy and really wanting to work with other countries in the G7 to figure out how we can jumpstart growth in economies all around to ensure that there are markets and opportunities for all of our workers and people.

     Q    Yes.  Hi.  This is Francesca Chambers with DailyMail.com.  Just had a couple follow-up questions.  I haven’t heard anything yet about the President and his wanting to, I guess, make a deal with Europe to send the ISIS fighters that the United States has in custody back.  He’s brought that up several times this week, so I wanted to know whether that will be at the forefront of his agenda.

     And as it pertains to Russia -- I’m sorry, there were multiple people who brought this up at this point -- someone just said that he wasn’t necessarily opining one way or the other to bring Russia back into the fold, however he’s also brought that up a couple times.  So when he said somebody should bring it up and there should potentially be a vote, is he going to call for that vote?

     SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  My understanding is the G7 works by consensus, so there would be no question of a vote.

     I think what we did say is that we expect the issue of Russia’s participation or nonparticipation to be discussed among the leaders.

     Q    Hi this is Shannon Pettypiece with NBC.  I wanted to see if I could get some -- a bit more specifics from you on trade, as far as what the President is hoping for outcomes.

On Germany and France, what specifically is he going to be asking those countries to do?  I know you mentioned the tax in France.  But in Germany, what is he -- what is his ask of Merkel?  And will he be reiterating his threat of tariffs if those countries don’t take the actions that he’s seeking? 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: So, I can speak to it in terms of the sessions themselves and the opportunities for leaders to speak collectively about the challenges they’re facing.  I mean, that’s the great advantage of the G7 is that there are challenges that are collectively shared by the world’s most advanced and industrialized economies, and they can really dig in and come up with creative solutions as to how they’re going to address these challenges.

So, of course the big ones that you see right now are those related to the unfair trading practices like (inaudible), forced technology transfer, as well as an increasingly digitalized economy that, while it provides significant opportunities, also provides some significant challenges that really need to be addressed collectively.

And then, of course, the challenges related to the multilateral system -- it’s inability to cope with actors like China coming onto the scene, as well as new types of economic behavior and the fact that our economy is (inaudible) moving at rapid speed.

So those are the types of conversations that I would expect the President to be having with his colleagues in those sessions -- is how do we collectively tackle the challenges.

Q    Yes, hi, this Adam Behsudi with Politico.  I had a question about the bilateral with Prime Minister Abe.  Are they expected, at that point, to be close to possibly agreeing to this trade deal they’ve been negotiating?  Or is there still too much negotiating still to do on that issue?  Is there going to be some sort of turning point in those talks when he meets with the Prime Minister?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure, well, I certainly don’t want to get out ahead of the President or of Ambassador Lighthizer, who is engaging with his counterpart, Motegi, on the trade issues.

You know, we’ve had a strong interest in a trade deal with Japan for quite some time.  We notified our intent to negotiate with Congress many, many months ago.  We’re looking at a number of issues and sectors, and there have been a series of meetings that have happened with Ambassador Lighthizer and his counterpart and the various teams.

So we’re working our way through.  We certainly have a lot of shared priorities and a lot of similar goals and ambitions.  So it certainly (inaudible) partner and ally that Ambassador Lighthizer is prioritizing (inaudible) our farmers and -- but also looking at a series of other issues.

So we’ll see.  The devil is in the details and you don’t have a deal until you have a deal (inaudible) rather than later.  But I can’t speak necessarily to the time.

Q    Hello, this is Kylie Sertic with Kyodo News.  I also have a question on the bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Abe.  Will they be discussing South Korea’s decision not to renew the General Security of Military Information Agreements, or GSOMIA, at their meeting?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I think they’ll be discussing a range of issues between the two leaders, from economic issues to security issues and regional issues.  And I don’t want to, again, get out ahead of the President and Prime Minister Abe as to what they may or may not be discussing, but I would imagine it would cover a host of concerns.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Okay, thanks everybody for joining today.  We appreciate you dialing in.  Again, as a reminder, this information is provided on background and attribution is to a “senior administration official.”  And now that the call is ended, the embargo on the contents are lifted.

Thanks again.
 
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