G7 Multilateralism vs. America First... President Lee Faces First Diplomatic Test

Canadian Prime Minister Presents "Peace, Energy Security, and Partnerships" as Key Agendas
President Lee Makes Debut on Multilateral Diplomatic Stage
First Meeting with President Trump

The upcoming G7 Summit, which will mark President Lee Jaemyung’s debut on the multilateral diplomatic stage, is expected to focus on key agenda items such as peace and security, energy security, and the establishment of new partnerships. This summit will bring together the leaders of major countries to discuss the restructured security and trade order that emerged after the tariff war initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump. As the G7 has emphasized multilateralism and the Trump administration has advocated an 'America First' policy, a clash between these two approaches appears inevitable.

According to Canada’s leading daily The Globe and Mail and the official G7 website on the 8th (local time), the summit will take place in Alberta, Canada from June 15 to 17. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has presented three core agenda items: strengthening peace and security, accelerating energy security and digital transformation, and securing new global partnerships. Prime Minister Carney stated that the summit will seek “consensus and joint action” on these three key tasks.

Specific agenda items include responding to foreign intervention and transnational crime, joint responses to climate disasters such as wildfires, economic growth driven by artificial intelligence (AI), strengthening critical mineral supply chains, attracting private investment, and creating high-wage jobs. In addition, the possibility has been raised that North Korea’s illegal cyber activities, such as cyber hacking and virtual asset theft, may also become major issues at the summit.

Bloomberg News reported that ransomware attacks by North Korean hacker groups have surged recently, resulting in leaks of confidential information, data damage, and theft of virtual assets in the financial and public infrastructure sectors. Attention is focused on whether the G7 will elevate this issue to a joint response agenda item.

The Russia-Ukraine war is also one of the core agenda items. The official G7 website stated that “ways to pursue a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine and conflict regions around the world will also be discussed.”

Although Korea is not a G7 member, President Lee will make his debut on the summit stage at the invitation of Canada. The G7 consists of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the European Union (EU), and others. This G7 summit is expected to serve as a testing ground for the resumption of Korea-U.S. trade negotiations, balanced diplomacy between the U.S. and China, and multilateral discussions on the North Korean nuclear issue.

The BBC reported on the 7th, “Although Korea is not a G7 member, it has been invited to the summit several times, and this is the sixth invitation.” The report added, “Attention is focused on whether the newly inaugurated President Lee will use the G7 as an opportunity to hold his first bilateral meetings with the United States and Japan, or even pursue a Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral summit.”

With a backlog of trade and tariff negotiations accumulated during the presidential vacancy caused by the state of emergency, there is also interest in how much the gap between Korea and the U.S. can be narrowed. Furthermore, the White House has officially expressed concerns about possible Chinese intervention after the presidential election, which experts interpret as a warning message to President Lee.

Reuters reported, “Korea is one of the key allied countries to initiate trade negotiations with the United States after Japan, and at the end of April, the two countries agreed on a ‘July package’ to abolish tariffs before the expiration of the 90-day grace period for Trump’s reciprocal tariff policy. However, progress has been delayed due to the change in administration.”

President Trump will also attend this G7 summit. This will be President Trump’s first visit to Canada since the start of his second term. As President Trump declared a tariff war at the very beginning of his term, tensions are likely to arise between the G7 countries, which value solidarity and joint response based on multilateralism, and President Trump, who is pushing for America First. The United States is pressuring for tariff increases citing trade imbalances and has taken a passive stance on climate change and international solidarity issues. The G7 emphasizes the protection of democratic values and joint action within the international order, so there is significant potential for policy clashes.

AP and The Washington Post (WP) have previously reported that President Trump’s high-tariff policies and America First approach are shaking the existing framework of multilateral cooperation within the G7.