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37 | Thursday June 8, 2017 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insidehalton.com Trump at `odds' with G7 partners at global summit E lla K o k o ts is Oakville Home Values up 28% in the last year ENERGY STAR ith U.S. President Donald Trump's first foray into the international arena, the May 26-27 G7 summit meeting in Taormina, Sicily was very much a meeting in which all eyes were on the U.S. president, with many wondering which version of Trump would in fact appear. Quite predictably, two Trumps emerged. The first Trump saw him self lavished and endeared by the Saudis only days pri or to arriving in Sicily, while the second Trump found himself at great odds with his G7 partners on a num ber of prominent global is sues, most notably free trade and climate change. In fact, this particular G7 meeting represented the first time in the summit's 42-year history that a clear divide was scripted in the final communique, directly pitting Trump against the other six leaders on climate change. The final document re leased in Taormina noted while the other six world leaders were ready to ratify the Paris Agreement, the U.S. was still not in a posi tion to make a final decision. Trump later tweeted he would decide next week on whether to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement, leaving the door, once again, wide open to broad specula tion on his position. While no major blunders were observed by Trump at the G7, it appeared he felt incredibly uncomfortable in this high-level political envi ronment. It also appeared that Trump was very closely managed and scripted. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on the other hand, appeared extremely comfortable on the world stage, having already attend ed a number of high-level international events during his tenure. Besides bilateral meetings with France, Japan and the U.K., Trudeau seized the opportunity in Taormina to have a bilateral meeting with Trump, where NAFTA figured prominently in their discussions. Although no clear indica tion was offered on where the two leaders would fi nally land on their trade re lationship, they did reaffirm their strong commitment to the "deepest economic part nership in the world." The privilege of attend ing G7/8 summits over the past 24 years has taught me that while policy outcomes are important, these events are primarily about relation ship-building. Effective global gover nance can only happen in an environment where con sensus is assured, and where personalities are at odds, the ability to reach mutuallyagreed to international com mitments becomes increas ingly more difficult, if not impossible. This particular G7 in Sicily made it clear to me that relations within the G7 are strained in a way not previously seen. If progressive, well-in tentioned and meaningful international agreements are to be reached, then Trump will need to temper his bra vado and forge consensus with his global counter parts. It is a tall an order for Trump. -- Oakville resident Ella Kokotsis, G7 Research Group, Munk School of Global Affairs based at the University of Toronto W Enbridge Home Energy Conservation Program GET $ UP TO EASY PAYMENT PLANS 2 1 0 0 IN REBATES FROM 4 9 On Your Enbridge Gas Bill* EARN AIR MILES m w Reward Miles For booking an in home estimate V isit our Facebook page /CONSUMERSCHOICEWINDOWS O N TA R IO 'S LEADING HOME IM PR O VER CO N SUM ER'S W IN D O W S &DOORS W W W .C O N S U M E R S C H O IC E .C A Call for a no obligation estim ate or our newest showroom or kiosk location 1 - 8 0 0 - 5 6 5 - 7 3 6 6 [ M L300 | Customer S a tisfa ctio n A ty o u ro p tio n ,C o n s u m e rsC h o ic e 'sc h a rg e sw ill a p p e a r inth eO th e rC o m p a n ie ss e c tio no fy o u rE n b rid g eG a sD is trib u tio nb ill. T h e s eo ffe rsa n dc la im sa rem a d eb yC o n s u m e rsC h o ic ea lo n e .C o n s u m e rsC h o ic eisn o to w n e db yo ra ffilia te dw ithE n b rid g ein c .o rE n b rid g eG a sD is trib u tio n . ® TMT ra d e m a rk so fA IRM IL E SIn te rn a tio n a lT ra d in gB .V .U s e du n d e r lic e n s eb yL o y a lty O n e ,C o .a n dC o n s u m e r'sC h o ic e W in d o w s .