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G7 Family Photo Event – A Multi-Continental Leadership Group Joins the "Group of Seven"…

The traditional G7 Family Photo event took an unusual twist on Sunday as leaders from Africa, India, South America and Australia joined the G7 assembly for the photo and leadership dinner at Hotel du Palais in Biarritz, France.
The backdrop is the grand plage (main beach) at the Hotel du Palais.  The photo-op is the last event available to media before dinner [media were not allowed to the dinner].
In addition to the G7 leaders [Macron, Merkel, Conte, Johnson, Trudeau, Tusk (EU), Abe and Trump] you will note a large delegation from Africa, PM Modi (India), PM Morrison (AU), President Sisi (Egypt) President Piñera (Chile); along with David Malpass (World Bank) and others.


At the end of the video Chilean President Sebastian Piñera along with his wife, Celia Morel, join Mr and Mrs. Macron along with Mr. and Mrs. Trump, on the riser for a set of photographs which seemed to be requested by President Donald Trump.
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President Trump and Prime Minister Boris Johnson Discuss "Big Trade Deal"…

The structure of the global trade reset is visible.  The China decoupling is underway; the scale of this geopolitical dynamic is incredible.
KORUS  (Korea-US) is in the books; the North American USMCA is complete, pending ratification; the EU has agreed to purchase U.S. beef exports; and effective today the Japan-US deal is agreed in principle (sans auto and industrial products TBD).  Now  President Trump is working on a post-Brexit UK-US bilateral package.


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G7 Breakout Session: "One Bribe One Loan"…

It does not take a deep geopolitical weed-walker to see the background for inviting the African delegation to the Biarritz summit.  Here we see the the G7 working session group on ‘partnerships with Africa‘:

What we don’t see in this picture is the main reason for the meeting, the 800lb panda in the room. All of these non-G7 members and meeting participants have been previously exposed to the One-Belt One-Road influence of Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping.
Combine World Bank President David Malpass into the equation, a direct U.S. nomination by President Trump now in place; mix in the visibility of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison; and then recognize the sudden appearance of Sebastian Pinera from Chile and Prime Minister Narendra Modi from India; and the picture of a multi-continental meeting to discuss the potential downstream ramifications of President Trump confronting China becomes visible.
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First Lady Melania Trump Visits Basque Village of Espelette, Southern France, During G7 Outing…

Frances’ First Lady Brigitte Macron took the spouses and partners of the G7 Summit leaders on a tour of a traditional Basque village near Biarritz, in the South of France.
First Lady Melania Trump and the entourage visited the Village of Espelette, the flower gardens of Villa Arnaga and the church of Saint-Etienne while their spouses were holding meetings and discussions at the G7 summit.

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Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and NEC Director Larry Kudlow Discuss G7 Trade and Economics…

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow discuss the ongoing trade and economic discussions amid the G7 summit in  France.  The G7 was originally formed to address economic issues amid the top industrial economies. President Trump has been trying to return to that focus.
Secretary Mnuchin did a good job knocking back the narrative gnats.


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President Trump and Prime Minister Abe Announce U.S-Japan Trade Agreement…

U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan announced the terms of a new U.S-Japan trade agreement have been reached.  This part of the trade agreement was visible for some time; confirmed today. U.S Ambassador Lighthizer and Japanese Minister Motegi have worked this for a while. [Video and Transcript]


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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: So, thank you very much. We’ve been working on a deal with Japan for a long time. It involves agricultural and it involves e-commerce and many other things. It’s a very big transaction, and we’ve agreed in principle. It’s billions and billions of dollars. Tremendous for the farmers.
And one of the things that Prime Minister Abe has also agreed to is we have excess corn in various parts of our country, with our farmers, because China did not do what they said they were going to do. And Prime Minister Abe, on behalf of Japan, they’re going to be buying all of that corn. And that’s a very big transaction. They’re going to be buying it from our farmers.
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U.S/Canada Bilat – President Trump and Justin from Canada…

President Trump and Justin from Canada hold a bilateral discussion on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France.   No-one is exactly sure why Justin from Canada is there; both leaders talked about the USMCA, again; and the media did not have any questions for anyone about Canada. [Video and Transcript Below]


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[Transcript] – PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU: Well, it’s always a pleasure to sit down with President Trump. We’ve had some good conversations already, particularly on the global economy. The Canadian and American economy are doing well, partially because of the trading relationship we have and the great work we did.
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U.S/Japan Bilat – President Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe – Video and Transcript…

President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hold bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France.  The U.S. and Japan have agreed to the terms of a trade deal. [Video and Transcript Below]


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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to be here. We’re having some very good discussions, maybe even great discussions. And I will say that our relationship with Prime Minister Abe and Japan has been, I think, the best it’s ever been. I don’t know, I’ll let you speak to that. But I think it’s the best it’s ever been.
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President Trump and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Working Breakfast – Video and Transcript…

U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a working breakfast prior to the Sunday session of the G7 summit in Biarritz, France.  The primary topics include Brexit and trade. [Video and Transcript Below]


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[Transcript] PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much, everybody. We’re having a very good meeting — a very good series of meetings. Last night, we had dinner. It worked out. I think it was fantastic.
PRIME MINISTER JOHNSON: It was fantastic. We covered — well, we covered three subjects, actually. We were going to cover 10 subjects, but in the end, we did three.
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Day Two Schedule – G7 Summit Biarritz, France…

An interesting line-up of scheduled meetings (bilats) for U.S. President Donald Trump as the first official full day of the G7 Summit agenda takes place.
French President Macron has scheduled summit priorities around gender studies, global inequities, climate issues and planetary justice. However, the majority of international media focus will likely be on President Trump and Boris Johnson’s economic discussions.

♦ 2:15am EST / 8:15am CEST – THE PRESIDENT participates in a working breakfast with Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Biarritz, France
♦ 3:20am EST / 9:20am CEST – THE PRESIDENT departs Hotel du Palais en route to Centre de Congrès Bellevue, Biarritz, France
♦ 3:25am EST / 9:25am CEST – THE PRESIDENT arrives at Centre de Congrès Bellevue, Biarritz, France, the primary venue for the G7 Summit.
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