Macron lambasts G20 failures, makes veiled digs at Trump

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.