LAMALBEY, Canada — Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that the US took part in the trade war on Friday as it concluded a trip to a meeting of top diplomats from seven industrialized democratic groups.
“There’s no trade war,” Rubio said. “The US is resetting its trade relations to a global level of equilibrium, reciprocity.”
The comments were in direct conflict with Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie. He said hours ago that the Trump administration is “engaged in a trade war with Canada.” On Thursday, President Donald Trump threatened a 200% tariff on European Union alcohol after slapping 25% tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum on Wednesday.
Jolie said she had a very long conversation with Rubio.
“We’ll put maximum pressure on Americans,” she insisted.
The contradictions between the two diplomats obscured the official agenda of the G7 Congress, including the Russian war in Ukraine and its relations with China. Instead, chaos over tariffs loomed at the gathering. When the frigid temperatures first arrived at the meeting on Tuesday, new and chilly relationships between the longtime allies unfolded as the frigid temperatures greeted the foreign ministers. On Thursday, Trump again chuckled Canada from his oval office when the diplomats met in Quebec.
“Canada only works as a nation,” Trump said. “We don’t need anything they have.”
On Friday, Jolie blows up comments, claiming she doesn’t make them jokes, but instead as a serious threat.
“Canadian sovereignty is uncontroversial,” she said. “period.”
Diplomatic conflict between the US and Canada also escalated in Ottawa on Friday. Mark Carney has been sworn in as the new prime minister.
“It’s crazy. His point is crazy. That’s all,” Carney said. “We will never be part of the United States in any way, in shape or form.”
After first highlighting that the topic didn’t appear during conversations with G7 diplomats, Rubio was forced on whether Trump was serious when he said Canada should be the 51st state.
“The Canadian government has created their position, and it’s clear how they feel about it. The president had his argument about why Canada thinks it would be better for them to join the US for economic purposes,” Rubio said. “There is a disagreement between the president’s position and the Canadian government’s position.”
Rubio also said the president said he loves Canada.
Jolie said she was trying to find a “off-ramp” in the trade dispute, but Rubio insisted that it wasn’t necessary because this was for the US to reset its trade policy.
Rubio also said that Trump’s tariff policies are not hostile to countries around the world, despite Trump calling the European Union “hostile and abusive” on social media. In the oval office that day, Trump added: “The European Union is very, very troublesome.”
In an interview with NBC News, Kaja Kallas, High Representative of European Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said it was an overall “good” G7 conference and promoted discussions on Russia’s war in Ukraine and various issues. However, she admitted that EU diplomats didn’t like Trump’s comments on Thursday.
“Of course, these kinds of statements are surprising because we have been friends and allies with the United States for a long time,” she said. “We did a lot of good things together.”
“We really don’t understand how it’s appropriate,” she said.
Still, in Ukraine, the US gradually approached its G7 allies on Friday – at least for now. The communite of the rally’s joint ministers supported the integrity of Ukraine’s territory and warned Russia to accept a ceasefire or face further sanctions.
Rubio denied declaring a change in US policy.
“President Trump has never heard of Russia saying that he has the right to embrace everything about Ukraine and do whatever they want,” he said. “So it’s not inconsistent with that statement.”
The agreement followed weeks of tensions between Trump and US allies over his Ukrainian policy.
The agreement between the G7 countries, consisting of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US, underscored the need for “security arrangements” to ensure a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, but Rubio refused to provide details of these security arrangements. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become famous for clashing with Trump in his elliptical office over US issues.
Speaking to reporters, Rubio touted “positive and productive engagement” in Moscow on Thursday with Russian President Vladamir Putin, but refused to speculate on the next step in ceasefire negotiations as Wickov was still back in the United States.
“I think there was a reason to be optimistic,” Rubio said. “We’re similarly aware that this is a difficult and complicated situation.”
Rubio was asked by NBC News if he trusted Putin.
“I think that’s an unrelated question,” he replied. “In foreign policy, I don’t think it’s about trusting. It’s about action… You can’t just say you want peace. You have to be peace – and that applies to both sides in any conflict.”
“This is not a character,” he added.
