Heads of state from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States convened in Biarritz, France, for the annual Group of Seven (G7) summit August 24-26, 2019. Following last year’s tumultuous summit in Canada, in which US President Donald Trump refused to sign the summit’s joint communique, French President Emmanuel Macron appeared determined to restore order to the G7. In lieu of the traditional communique, a one-page Leaders’ Declaration briefly outlined the members’ shared positions on the state of global trade, crumbling relations with Iran over its nuclear program, ongoing tension between Russia and the Ukraine, conflict in Libya, and protests in Hong Kong. To these ends, Macron met with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the G7 Summit and invited Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to Biarritz in a failed attempt to facilitate talks with the US. Nevertheless, the summit wrestled with sideline drama that included President Trump’s off-the-cuff suggestion that Russia rejoin the group, as well as his grandstanding on US-China trade negotiations, and a tense exchange with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro over raging wildfires in the Amazon. In this RPI Policy Alert, we review the Rising Powers’ reactions to the 2019 G7 Summit. Read it here.
