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.

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.

So the deal is done in principle. We probably will be signing it around UNGA. It will be around the date of UNGA, which we all look forward to. And we’re very far down the line. We’ve agreed to every point, and now we’re papering it and we’ll be signing it at a formal ceremony.

And I just want to thank Prime Minister Abe and the Japanese people. You’ve been a fantastic friend, and we very much appreciate it. This is a tremendous deal for the United States. It’s a, really, tremendous deal for our farmers and agricultural ranchers, and also involves other things, including, as I said, e-commerce.

So, it’s very big and we look forward to it. And thank you very much.

PRIME MINISTER ABE: (As interpreted.) With regard to the Japan-U.S. trade agreement, a series of intensive negotiations have been conducted between Minister Motegi and Ambassador Lighthizer in line with the Japan-U.S. joint statements on September 26 of last year.

And by now, how we successfully reached consensus with regard to the core elements of both the agricultural and industrial products of our bilateral consultations on August the 23rd. And I certainly welcome this development.

And now, as Mr. President pointed out, next month, at the end of September, both of us are going to attend the U.N. General Assembly. And, on that occasion, I do think that we’ll have the bilateral summit meeting. So we certainly have — we would like to set the goal of signing this Japan-U.S. trade agreement, seizing that opportunity.

We still have some remaining work that has to be done at the working level, namely finalizing the wording of the trade agreement and also finalizing the content of the agreement itself. But we would like to make sure that our teams would accelerate the remaining work for us to achieve this goal of realizing the signing of the agreement on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly at the end of September.

And I’m very happy that both of our teams have been working on the specific issue in a win-win manner, bringing both the benefits to Japan and the United States. And if we are to see the entry into force of this trade agreement, I’m quite sure that there will be the immense positive impact on both the Japanese as well as American economies.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Perhaps you may want to discuss the additional purchase of all of that corn, because we have a tremendous amount right now. And we’ve been working with the farmers and making very, very large payments for the unfair way they were treated by China.

And the farmers are very happy. They like — they like their President. They’re very happy. But I think it’s even better, and I think they’re even happier, when they hear you’re actually buying their products.

So perhaps you could say a couple of words just about the hundreds of millions of dollars of corn — existing corn — that’s there, that you’ll be buying.

PRIME MINISTER ABE: (As interpreted.) So with regard to the potential purchase of American corn, in Japan we are now experiencing inspect pest on some of the agricultural products. And there is a need for us to buy certain amount of agricultural products. And this will be done by the Japanese private sector. That means that Japanese corporations will need to buy additional agricultural products.

And we believe that there is a need for us to implement emergency support measures for the Japanese private sector to have the early purchase of the American corn.

Of course, there is something that is already a shared understanding between — by the Japanese public, Japanese private sector, as well. So that’s why, against such backdrop, I do think that there is a possibility for us to cooperate to address this issue.

And with regard to further details, I would like to continue discussing with you, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: And the Japanese private sector listens to the Japanese public sector very strongly. I’m not sure. It’s a little different than it is in our country perhaps. But they are — they have great respect for the public sector. So when I hear the private sector has agreed to this, we’re very happy about that.

And I’d just like to ask, perhaps, Bob, and your counterpart, if you’d like to say a few words.

AMBASSADOR LIGHTHIZER: Great. Thank you, Mr. President and Prime Minister, and Minister Motegi.

Well, first of all, what we have is an agreement on core principles. It has three parts: agriculture, industrial tariffs, and digital trade. And from our point of view, it is extremely important to our farmers and ranchers and those people who work in the digital space.

We’ll get into the details at another time, but generally, Japanese is our third-largest agricultural market. They import about $14 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products. And this will open up markets to over $7 billion of those products.

In the agriculture area, it will be a major benefit for beef, pork, wheat, dairy products, wine, ethanol, and a variety of other products.

It will lead to substantial reductions in tariffs and non-tariff barriers across the board. And I’ll just give you one example: Japan is, by far, our biggest beef market. We sell over $2 billion worth of beef to Japan. And this allow us to do with lower tariffs and to compete more effectively with people across the board, particularly the TPP countries and Europe.

So it’s very good news for our farmers and ranchers, but it’s also good news for those who work in the digital e-commerce space where it is the gold standard of an international agreement. This is an area that not only has been important to the President but been of particular importance to the Prime Minister.

So we’re very excited about this agreement. We look forward to finishing the additional work and having it be implemented as soon as possible in Japan and the United States.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Would you like to say something?

MINISTER MOTEGI: Thank you very much —

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you.

MINISTER MOTEGI: — Mr. President and Prime Minister Abe.

(As interpreted.) As the Prime Minister mentioned, based on the Japan-U.S. joint statement released by the two leaders on the 26th of September last year, myself and Ambassador Lighthizer had a series of ministerial negotiation on the Japan-U.S. trade agreement.

As we all know, the United States is the largest economy in the world, whereas Japan is also ranked third in terms of the total GDP. And also, among the (inaudible) economies, we are the very first and the second largest economies. And with this milestone of achievements we now have the full concurrence on various issues covering the agricultural, as well as industrial products, and also the digital and e-commerce. And the significance of this achievement cannot be over-emphasized. And I’m very happy to share this important achievement with you.

And on this occasion, myself and Ambassador Lighthizer had a chance to present what we have agreed at the ministerial level, and we successfully both obtained endorsement from President Trump and also Prime Minister Abe.

So the key mission for both myself and Ambassador Lighthizer is to complete the remaining work as soon as possible. Of course, I have my own team, which will focus on completing the remaining work. And I certainly hope that by working hand-in-hand between myself and Ambassador Lighthizer, and also between the Japanese and American teams, we will like to complete the remaining work as soon as possible.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

Q Mr. President?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yes. Go ahead.

Q Will the auto tariffs remain in place? The U.S. tariffs on autos.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Are you talking about with regard to China?

Q Yeah. With regard to Japan.

AMBASSADOR LIGHTHIZER: Well, there are a series — pardon me. There are a series of industrial tariffs that are being reduced. Auto tariffs are not in that group.

Q So they remain?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: It depends. Are you talking about Japan or are you talking China? China is a very different situation.

Q Well, I’d love to hear your answer to both.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I can tell you — I mean, on China, they remain. On Japan, they stay the same. They’re staying the same.

This is a massive purchase of wheat also, in addition to everything else. This is a very large purchase of wheat, and the very, very large order of corn will go quickly. But importantly, it’s something that wasn’t in the agreement that we may not even — we may do that as a supplementary agreement. But we appreciate that very much. We just agreed to that on the other idea of the door.

So I just appreciate that very much. And we’ll do a great job. And the farmers are very thankful. Thank you very much.

Q Mr. President, on a separate issue, there are reports that the Iranian Foreign Minister is coming to Biarritz. Can you confirm that? Or do you plan to meet with him?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: No comment.

Okay? Thank you very much, everybody.

TRANSCRIPT END

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.

Quite frankly, around the table there’s a lot of people wanting to make trade deals with each other. And we have a deal that we were able to negotiate that’s good for our workers, good for our citizens, good for the middle class. And that’s the kind of thing that we need to see more of around the world.

Always a pleasure to talk about a broad range of global issues. And it’s good to sit down with you.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: So, we’re going to be significantly expanding our trading relationship when the USMCA gets done and completed. Our farmers love it. The unions love it. The workers love it. Manufacturers love it. Everybody likes it. I think most Democrats like it. So, hopefully, that’ll be put to a vote fairly soon.

It’s got tremendous support — both, I believe, Democrat and Republican. It has been signed and finalized, essentially, by Canada and, essentially, by Mexico. So we’re waiting for that from the United States.

And we have — we have really great support. And it’s something — I think it’s a very special agreement. And it replaces NAFTA, which is perhaps the worst trade agreement ever done. Certainly within our country it’s the worst. I can think of one worse, but it’s not within our country, it’s outside of our country, and that’s the WTO. That’s a beauty.

So we’re very happy with the agreement, and I congratulate you. I hope it gets done. I guess we should save the congratulations for when they vote, but hopefully that will be put to a vote pretty soon.

Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.

END 12:27 P.M. CEST

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.

Go ahead.

We’re discussing trade. We’re doing a lot of trade together; a lot of military trade, actually, which is a big component. We’re also talking, obviously, about North Korea. And those discussions are going very well. And we’re discussing lots of other things. And the relationship between us, but also the relationship with us and the other countries, has really been — of the G7 — has really been outstanding.

From the moment we got here, we’ve been treated beautifully. I think I speak for Shinzo and myself. We’ve been treated beautifully. And I want to congratulate — and I have to say “thus far,” because we’re probably halfway through. But thus far, this has been really a great G7, and I want to congratulate France and your President because they have really done a great job.

Thank you.

PRIME MINISTER ABE: (As interpreted.) I would like to congratulate you on the birth of your 10th grandchild.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you.

PRIME MINISTER ABE: (As interpreted.) And speaking of our intensive diplomatic engagement, as shown by my own visit to Washington, D.C. back in April, followed by you and Madam First Lady’s state visit to Japan in the month of May as a very first state guest under the new era called Reiwa, and also followed by our meeting on the margins of G20 Osaka Summit.

So, as shown by these meetings, we have been conducting very frequent exchange of opinions, as well as visits. And looking back at the history of Japan-U.S. relations, we’ve never seen this frequent level of visits between the two leaders as we have seen at this moment.

So I think it is fair to say that, we as the leaders of Japan and the United States, now enjoy a robust relationship of trust more so than ever, and same can be said vis-à-vis the status of the Japan-U.S. relations in general.

And thanks to your tremendous support for me as a chair of the G20 Osaka Summit, we could send out a really powerful message toward addressing various global challenges. And just as importantly, I am ready to work very closely with you, Donald, so as to bring this year’s G7 Summit to a successful conclusion.

So, on this occasion, I certainly look forward to discuss with you specific ways to deepen our alliance between the two countries and also the regional situations, including North Korea as well as Iran. And, of course, we look forward to discussing bilateral trade as well as the economic relationship. And I certainly hope to have a very productive discussion with you.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you. And I want to also congratulate the great Matsuyama. You know who Matsuyama is? He’s a great golfer that we played with and we had a lot of fun.

And Shinzo is a very good golfer, and we have a lot of fun playing golf together. And we played with Ernie Els here, and Shinzo reciprocated with a great player, Matsuyama. And last week, in a big tournament — which is a one of the very biggest tournaments — he came in third, and he shot a 62 or 63 in the final round, which is not bad. Right? Which is not bad. So, he’s a great young man and he’s a great golfer. And please congratulate him for me. Thank you.

Okay.

Q Mr. President, do you have a trade deal with Japan? Have you agreed on a trade deal?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: We’re working on one, and we’re fairly close. And I don’t know as to, Bob Lighthizer, what’s happening. Can you give us a status report?

AMBASSADOR LIGHTHIZER: Well, we’re very close and we’ve been working intensively. And hopefully, as a result of this meeting, we’ll be able to come to an agreement on core principles.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: A very big deal. It’s a major deal with Japan. If it gets done, we’ll possibly know by the end of this meeting.

Q Mr. President, did you sign off on a statement to Iran — a message to Iran that President Macron says he’s going to deliver on behalf of all the G7 countries?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, I haven’t discussed that. No.

Q It’s —

PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, I haven’t.

Q Do you support President Macron’s outreach to Iranian authorities?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Sure. And I also support Prime Minister Abe’s outreach because he’s also speaking to Iran, and they have a very good relationship, from what I understand. But Iran is no longer the same country it was — as it was two and a half years ago. But we’ll do our own outreach. But, you know, I can’t stop people from talking. If they want to talk, they can talk.

Q What are some of the issues you all talked about at dinner last night?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Why don’t you tell me what we spoke about last night? (Laughter.)

Q I’m asking you, sir.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Because there was a lot of inaccurate reporting. We had a really good dinner last night.

And I had a fantastic lunch with the President of France yesterday. The best — frankly — and I told him, and I was totally honest — probably an hour and a half. Many of you saw it. I think it was the best hour and a half I’ve ever spent with him, President Macron.

It was a perfect period of time. And yet, I picked up stories, and I read like it was the opposite. It was really was. I mean, it doesn’t matter; you can write whatever you want to write. But it was false reporting.

We had a very, very good lunch, and we had a very, very good dinner last night. Everybody was at the dinner. And I think it was really good. We discussed Iran. We discussed trade. We discussed China. And we discussed many things. But it was a very, very good — a very good dinner.

Q Mr. President, you said you discussed Russia, and you said earlier it was a “lively” discussion. Do you feel that the other members of the G7 would encourage Russia to join again, the way you are?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think that’s a work in progress. We have a number of people that would like to see Russia back. I think it would be — I think it would be advantageous to many things in the world. I think it would be a positive. Other people agree with me. And it’s something that we’re discussing.

I don’t know that we’ll make a decision one way or the other, but we did have a discussion about Russia last night, as to whether or not we want to invite them back. I think it’s advantageous. I think it’s a positive. Other people agree with me, and some people don’t necessarily agree.

Q How do you expect to overcome those differences?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I don’t think we’re going to — maybe we won’t. Maybe we’ll just leave it the way it is.

Q Can you say who were some of those who agreed with you on inviting Russia back?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I could, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Some of the people that I was surprised — I was actually surprised at a couple of them because I didn’t think they had a good relationship, and it was good enough that they said, “Yes, we’d like to have them back.”

It’s — it’s ongoing discussion. No decision — no decision was made. We didn’t do a vote or anything. Just discussion.

Q Are you concerned at all about North Korea conducting more tests?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I’m not happy about it. But, again, he’s not in violation of an agreement. We speak. I received a very nice letter from him last week. We speak. He was upset that South Korea was doing the “war games,” as you call them. I don’t think they were necessary either, if you want to know the truth.

And I said to my people, “You can have them or not. I would recommend against them, but I’m going to let you do exactly what you want to do.” I said that to all of my people. I said, “I don’t want to interfere because I think if you want to do them, you can do them, if you think it’s necessary. But I think it’s a total waste of money.” And they did a modified version of them.

John Bolton, would you say that’s correct? It’s a very much —

AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Yes, very much modified.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: — modified version. But I think it was unnecessary to do, frankly.

Q Any update on another meeting with North Korea?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Probably have one. Yeah. Probably. But — so I’m not — I’m not liking short range because short range is Shinzo’s — you know, it’s really his territory. I mean, I’d like to ask, Shinzo, how do you feel about North Korea and the testing of short-range missiles? He’s not thrilled.

PRIME MINISTER ABE: (As interpreted.) So, our position is very clear: That the launch of short-range ballistic missiles by North Korea clearly violates the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions. So, in that sense, it was extremely regrettable for us to experience another round of the launch of the short-range ballistic missiles by North Korea in recent days.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: And I can understand how the Prime Minister of Japan feels. I mean, I can. It’s different. But, I mean, I can understand that fully.

Q Mr. Prime Minister, would you like President Trump to come further to your position on this?

PRIME MINISTER ABE: (As interpreted.) As we have done before, I would like to make sure that we — meaning, myself and President Trump — will always stay on the same page when it comes to North Korea.

And also, I would like to underscore that I fully support the U.S.-North Korea process 100 percent.

Q But are you on the same page, if you see these things so differently? I mean —

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think, ultimately, we’re always on the same page. As long as he’s Prime Minister and as long as I’m President, I think we’re always on the same page.

Q Sorry, but, Mr. President, you don’t think that the short-term — or the short missile launches are —

PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, because I never —

Q — are a violation of U.N. resolutions?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: — because I never discussed that with him personally. I mean, you’re talking about personally; I never discussed that with him. I discussed long-range ballistic, and, that, he cannot do. And he hasn’t been doing it. And he hasn’t been doing nuclear testing. He has done short range, much more standard missiles. A lot of people are testing those missiles, not just him. A lot of people are testing those missiles. We’re in the world of missiles, folks, whether you like it or not.

I have confidence that, in the end, Kim Jong Un — who I’ve gotten to know very well — will do the right thing. I feel that he will do the right thing. I think it’s to his advantage to do the right thing. I think North Korea has tremendous potential as a country, economically. I think it’s got — I think, maybe, there’s no country that you could talk of in terms of emerging that has the potential that North Korea has. I think he understands that better than anybody. And I think, in the end, he will do the right thing.

We’ll see. Maybe not, but maybe. But I think he’ll do the right thing. We’ll see what happens.

Thank you all very much.

END 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.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Three that we’ll talk about.

PRIME MINISTER JOHNSON: We do three in detail.

Q Mr. President, do you have any advice for Boris Johnson on Brexit?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: He needs no advice. He’s the right man for the job. I’ve been saying that for a long time. It didn’t make your predecessor very happy. But I’ve been saying it for a long time: He’s the right man for the job.

PRIME MINISTER JOHNSON: You’re on message there. (Laughter.) I’m grateful — I’m very grateful for that. And we’re looking forward to having some pretty comprehensive talks about how to take forward the relationship in all sorts of ways, particularly on trade. And we’re very excited about that.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: We’re having very good trade talks between the UK and ourselves. We’re going to do a very big trade deal — bigger than we’ve ever had with the UK.

And now, they won’t have it. At some point, they won’t have the obstacle of — they won’t have the anchor around their ankle, because that’s what they had. So, we’re going to have some very good trade talks and big numbers.

PRIME MINISTER JOHNSON: Talking of the anchor — talking of the anchor, Donald, what we want is for our ships to be able to take freight, say, from New York to Boston, which at the moment they can’t do. So, we want cabotage. How about that?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Many things — many things we’re talking about.

PRIME MINISTER JOHNSON: That would be a good thing.

Q How fast do you think you’ll be able to make a trade deal?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Pretty quickly. We don’t anticipate any problems. Before, we were sort of stymied. Well, I was stymied by the other side because nothing went — nothing got done on the other side, as you’ve seen from Brexit. This is a different person, and this is a person that’s going to be a great prime minister, in my opinion. Boris, it’s only my opinion.

PRIME MINISTER JOHNSON: No, look, I’m not going to — I’m not going to dissent. I’m not going to discourage you from that, Donald.

But obviously, I have memories of American trade negotiations in the past, and I have a formidable respect for U.S. trade negotiations. And I know that there will be some tough talks ahead, because, at the moment, you know, we still don’t — I don’t think we sell a single joint of British lamb to the United States. We don’t sell any beef. We don’t sell any pork pies. And there are clearly huge opportunities for the UK to penetrate the American market in the way that we currently don’t. And we’re very interested to talk about that with you.

Q Mr. President, do you think that you will invite Putin to next year’s G7, sir?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: That, I don’t know. We did discuss it. We had a very good discussion on Russia and President Putin, and a lively discussion, but, really, a good one. And it’s certainly —

PRIME MINISTER JOHNSON: It was lively.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: It’s certainly possible. It’s certainly possible. We’ll see.

Q Mr. President, are your allies pressuring you to give up the trade war with China?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: No. Not at all. I haven’t heard that at all, no. I think they respect the trade war. It has to happen. China has been — I can only speak for the United States. I can’t say what they’ve been doing to the UK and to other places. But from the standpoint of the United States, what they’ve done is outrageous that Presidents and administrations allowed them to get away with taking hundreds of billions of dollars out every year, putting it into China. So, the answer is, nobody has told me that, and nobody would tell me that.

Q Mr. President, any second thoughts on escalating the trade war with China?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yeah, sure. Why not?

Q Second thoughts? Yes?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Might as well. Might as well.

Q You have second thoughts about escalating the war with China?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I have second thoughts about everything.

Q Are you going to declare a national emergency on China?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I have the right to, if I want. I could declare a national emergency. I think when they steal and take out, and — intellectual property theft, anywhere from $300 billion to $500 billion a year, and where we have a total loss of almost a trillion dollars a year — for many years, this has been going on — in many ways, that’s an emergency.

I have no plan right now. Actually, we’re getting along very well with China right now. We’re talking. I think they want to make a deal much more than I do. We’re getting a lot of money in tariffs. It’s coming in by the billions. We never got 10 cents from China. So we’ll see what happens. But we are talking to China very seriously.

Q Are you concerned about how the market is reacting to the tariffs?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: No. The market is doing great. Our country is doing great. Everybody was telling me, yesterday, people are trying to copy the formula. We’ve cut taxes way down. We got rid of regulations — large numbers — more than any President has gotten rid of. And we’re doing very well. Our country is doing fantastically well.

I mean, you people want a recession because you think maybe that’s the way to get Trump out. Maybe that’s the way we get him out.

But I don’t even think that would even work, because, look, if there’s anything, it’s — you know, we’ve got to go into trade negotiations to get it right. But, ultimately, it’ll be many times what it was before. Our country is doing really well. We have horrible trade deals, and I’m straightening them out. The biggest one, by far, is China.

PRIME MINISTER JOHNSON: Yeah. Look, I just want to say I congratulate the President on everything that the American economy is achieving. It’s fantastic to see that.

But just to register the faint, sheep-like note of our view on the trade war, we’re in favor of trade peace on the whole, and dialing it down if we can.

Q Are you in favor of trade peace with China?

PRIME MINISTER JOHNSON: Well, we think that, on the whole, we’re — the UK has profited massively in the last 200 years from free trade, and that’s what we want to see. And so we’re keen to see — we don’t like tariffs on the whole.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: How about the last three years? (Laughs.) Don’t talk about the last three. Two-hundred, I agree with you.

Q Prime Minister, have you made clear that, in any trade talks with the U.S., the NHS will be off the table and (inaudible)?

PRIME MINISTER JOHNSON: Not only — not only have I made clear that, but Donald, the President, has made that very, very clear as well. And so there’s complete unanimity on that point.

Q Mr. President, do you have plans today to announce a trade deal with Japan?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: We’re very close to a major deal with Japan. As you know, Prime Minister Abe and I are very good friends and — really good friends. We’ve been working on it for five months. Bob Lighthizer is here someplace. Bob? Do you want to say something about the deal with Japan?

AMBASSADOR LIGHTHIZER: I’m going to say that, presumably, something will be announced after you meet with the Prime Minister of Japan. That’s all I’m going to say.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: We’re working on a very big deal with Japan, and we’re very close to getting it. And, frankly, I think what’s happening in China helps with respect to Japan. But it’s a very big deal. It’ll be one of the biggest deals we’ve ever made with Japan.

Okay? Thank you all very much.

END 8:28 A.M. CEST

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.

♦ 3:30am EST / 9:30am CEST – THE PRESIDENT participates in the G7 Working Session on the Global Economy, Foreign Policy, and Security Affairs, Biarritz, France. [NOTE: This is the economic segment of the summit requested by the U.S. delegation – keep an eye open for very specific remarks to the audience by President Trump.]

♦ 5:15am EST / 11:15am CEST – THE PRESIDENT participates in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, Biarritz, France

♦ 6:20am EST / 12:20pm CEST – THE PRESIDENT participates in a bilateral meeting with Justin from Canada, the Prime Minister of Canada, Biarritz, France

♦ 7:00am EST / 1:00pm CEST – THE PRESIDENT participates in a G7 working lunch on inequality, Biarritz, France. [To reflect their global magnanimity Emmanuel Macron has selected sustainable algae cakes as the menu. /kidding]

♦ 9:00am EST / 3:00pm CEST – THE PRESIDENT participates in a G7 working session on the G7 partnership with Africa, Biarritz, France

♦ 10:35am EST / 4:35pm CEST – THE PRESIDENT participates in an unusual pull-aside with Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia [Not a G7 Participant?] Biarritz, France

♦ 10:55am EST / 4:55pm CEST – THE PRESIDENT departs the Centre de Congrès Bellevue en route to the Hotel du Palais, Biarritz, France

♦ 11:00am EST / 5:00pm CEST – THE PRESIDENT arrives at the Hotel du Palais, Biarritz, France

♦ 2:00pm EST / 8:00pm CEST – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY participate in the G7 extended partners program, Biarritz, France, [This is usually a cultural program for summit guests]

~ Day Two Schedule Concludes ~