RIO DE JANEIRO — French President Emmanuel Macron didn’t mention United States President-elect Donald Trump by name, but it was easy to read between the lines.
In a speech at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Macron warned against global trade wars and falling behind in the fight against climate change, and appealed to fellow leaders to shore up the progress that has been made.
“We’ve made progress since the Paris climate agreement,” he said. “But it’s all fragile and can be questioned at any moment by [nations] that don’t respect the terms or make an exit.”
During the campaign ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election in the U.S., Trump said he would pull his country out of the Paris climate agreement, something he did in 2017 during his first term. Current U.S. President Joe Biden had the U.S. rejoin the pact in one of his first acts upon assuming office in 2019.
Macron has sought to position himself as leading the global response to Trump’s return to the White House. He was the first Western leader to congratulate the former reality TV star on his election victory, and has called on Europeans to prepare more thoroughly for a trade war.
With domestic woes at home, including a soaring public spending deficit and a fragmented parliament, Macron has taken a step back from the daily conduct of politics and may be keen to lead the response to Trump.
In another reference to one of Trump’s pet topics, the French president warned of a “fragmentation” of the world order if the most powerful economies become ensnared in a major trade war. The U.S. president-elect has threatened to slap a universal 10 percent tariff on imports and a 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods.
“Any breaking up of the international order by tariffs policies pursued by the strongest will encourage the others to do the same,” Macron said.
The French president was speaking at a round table at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. His statement was one of the few speeches made public.
Macron also accused the Group of 20 of failing to address new challenges and make the world safer. The G20, he said, is a forum “that doesn’t work” and that produces statements that “nobody reads.”
“This framework doesn’t work very well, and I’m being polite, we have not demonstrated this year our capacity to prevent or resolve conflicts.”
The G20 has been fraught with divisions and tensions this year, more so than previously, with Argentinian President Javier Milei obstructing negotiations and diplomats setting low expectations on any progress on Ukraine support.
Speaking to his fellow leaders, Macron said the G20’s words needed to be “clear,” and called for the release of the hostages held by the Hamas militant group, a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, and an end to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
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