U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio may be walking into unusually unfriendly territory this week when he meets his counterparts from the Group of 7 industrialized democracies — strong American allies stunned by President Donald Trump’s actions against them.
Just hours after Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs kicked in — prompting responses from the European Union and Canada and threatening to ignite full-scale trade wars with close U.S. partners — Rubio arrived at the scenic Quebec town of La Malbaie on the St. Lawrence River for two days of talks with the top diplomats of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. All of them have been angered by the new American president's policies.
Rubio will likely be hearing a litany of complaints about Trump’s decisions from once-friendly, like-minded countries in the G7 — notably host Canada, to which Trump has arguably been most antagonistic with persistent talk of it becoming the 51st U.S. state, additional tariffs and repeated insults against its leadership.
Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, the official host who will see each participant separately, said that "in every single meeting, I will raise the issue of tariffs to coordinate a response with the Europeans and to put pressure on the Americans.”
“The only constant in this unjustifiable trade war seems to be President Trump’s talk of annexing our country through economic coercion,” Joly said Wednesday. "Yesterday, he called our border a fictional line and repeated his disrespectful 51st state rhetoric.”
Rubio downplayed Trump's “51st state” comments, saying Wednesday that the president was only expressing what he thought would be a good idea.
The G7 grouping "is not a meeting about how we’re going to take over Canada,” Rubio said, noting that they would focus on Ukraine issues and other common topics.
On tariffs, Rubio said G7 partners should understand that these are a “policy decision” by Trump to protect American competitiveness.
“I think it is quite possible that we could do these things and at the same time deal in a constructive way with our allies and friends and partners on all the other issues that we work together on,” Rubio told reporters on a refueling stop in Ireland as he headed to Canada from talks with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia. “And that’s what I expect out of the G7 and Canada.”
Asked if he expected a difficult reception from his counterparts, Rubio brushed the question aside: “I don’t know, should I be? I mean, they’ve invited us to come. We intend to go. The alternative is to not go. I think that would actually make things worse, not better.”
Rubio notably skipped a meeting of G20 foreign ministers — a bigger but less powerful group that includes developing nations — last month in South Africa because of his concerns that the agenda, which included climate change and diversity, did not align with Trump administration policies.
The agenda for the G7 meeting includes discussions on China and the Indo-Pacific; Ukraine and Europe; stability in the Americas; the Middle East; maritime security; Africa; and China, North Korea, Iran and Russia.
Rubio and Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, had been in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, earlier in the week securing a potentially huge win for the administration — a possible ceasefire to end the Russia-Ukraine war, an issue that galvanized the G7 since even before the conflict began.
Armed with Ukraine’s acceptance of the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire but still awaiting a Russian response, Rubio can expect cautiously optimistic responses from his fellow diplomats.
Yet, Trump’s apparent desire to draw Russian President Vladimir Putin back into the fold — including saying he would like to see Russia rejoin the group to restore it to the G8 — continues to alarm G7 members. They united behind Ukraine, with large amounts of military assistance and punishing economic sanctions against Moscow, after the invasion began in February 2022.
Russia was thrown out of the G8 after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Among international groupings, the G7 — whose members, with the exception of Japan, are all NATO allies — had been the toughest on Russia.
At the last G7 foreign ministers meeting before the 2022 invasion, members warned Russia in a joint statement in December 2021 of “massive consequences” should it attack Ukraine. Three months later, they coordinated to impose sweeping financial, travel and other sanctions on Moscow.
Since Trump's election, that appears to be changing, at least from the U.S. side.
Rubio said his goal was not to antagonize Russia as it considers the ceasefire proposal “by issuing statements that are abrasive in any way.” He noted that all of the sanctions against Russia remain in place but that new threats of action could be counterproductive to getting Putin on board with the U.S. peace plan.
That throws into question hopes that the G7 can unify around a common statement condemning Russia.
Britain, along with France, has been spearheading efforts to set up a “coalition of the willing” to help safeguard a future ceasefire in Ukraine, including with troops on the ground. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer — who has said the plan will only work with U.S. security guarantees to back it up — plans to host a virtual meeting of about two dozen countries Saturday to discuss progress.
Rubio and other Trump administration officials have so far refused to endorse European peacekeepers.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said G7 unity has been critical in ensuring that “Putin to this day hasn’t achieved his war aims in Ukraine.”
“The way to peace goes via strength and unity — a language that Putin understands,” she said in a statement before the meeting.
Associated Press writers Rob Gillies in Toronto, Jill Lawless in London, and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
28 Comments
HopeSpringsEternal
Marco will be JUST fine and will likely be JD Vance's VP pick in 2028!
grund
The US has been treating the rest of the world as a doormat recently, so yes, I do hope that Rubio gets the unfriendly reception that he deserves.
Peter14
As he should. US becoming an unlikeable nation through Trumps policies and actions.
EvilBuddha
If the US annexes Canada it will become G6. To keep it G7 the rest of the members will have to readmit Russia.
rainyday
I think Rubio is heading for the wrong meeting - that one is for members of the democratic world.
He belongs at the meeting of fellow nations who share Trump's desire to destroy the West: North Korea, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, China, etc.
grc
Maybe G6 would be better
Wasabi
Yes, exactly the opposite of what you said. "Forcing the others countries" by adding new tariffs? Of course, we are all afraid of trump and will give everything to him? Are you crazy? Is it what is now happing? Did you read some news recently, try googling Canada for example, it may teach you something today.
I'veSeenFootage
And that's exactly what he deserves! You sold your soul for a little bit of power Marco, and you will now eat doodoo for the rest of your life.
TaiwanIsNotChina
And rightly so. The G7 doesn't want a russian asset at the table, so it must become the G6.
TaiwanIsNotChina
100 years of evidence and the fact of maskirovka says otherwise.
maxjapank
Is Rubio going to be the first around to Trump to realize how insane he is? Will we get an add in the paper telling us not to worry...that there are those working in the White House looking out for America's best interests? I'm betting he'll be the first to wake up and express a warning to all.
Tokyo Guy
Gee, wonder why.
plasticmonkey
Rubio has a history of sounding reasonable and personable when meeting dignitaries and officials in private.
Then he goes on Xwitter or Fox and badmouths them.
He's a total phony. Especially since selling his soul to Lucifer.
Ah_so
In 2016 Rubio described Trump as someone who wanted to be "a third world strongman"
He then said, "there are many people on the right, in the media, and voters at large, that are going to be having to explain and justify how they fell into this trap of supporting Donald Trump, because this is not going to end well, one way or the other.”
He's known exactly what Trump is like for years, but it's still prepared to do his bidding.
u_s__reamer
Rubio, a former Trump-hating non-entity, now has become the felon-president's sock-puppet SoS who will only shrink further on the international stage as only befits rogue-state America's diminishing moral stature.
HopeSpringsEternal
Rubio's like any other ambitious Politician in that he attracts a lot of incoming fire. It's really a compliment if you think about it, because his FUTURE is BRIGHT!
TaiwanIsNotChina
Good, they can both go down in flames together.
I wonder how the deportations and inflation are going down with Hispanic voters.
Some good fantasy writing from ChatGPT but will be blown apart by reality if Ukraine isn't successful and inflation is through the roof.
stickman1760
Little Marco and the Hillbilly.
America really is in decline
Peter14
No, they can admit Australia. Russia will remain on "the outer" until it returns stolen lands of Ukraine and paid reparations.
nickybutt
Maybe they should be in the G7. America unfortunately leads:
Incarceration Rate – The U.S. has the highest prison population and incarceration rate in the world.
Healthcare Costs – America spends more per capita on healthcare than any other country, yet has poorer outcomes compared to many developed nations.
Mass Shootings – The U.S. has more mass shootings than any other country by a significant margin.
Student Debt – The U.S. has the largest amount of student loan debt in the world.
Military Spending – The U.S. spends more on its military than the next several countries combined.
Opioid Crisis – The U.S. has some of the highest rates of opioid addiction and overdose deaths.
Food Waste – America wastes an enormous amount of food, leading global rankings in per capita food waste.
Income Inequality – Among developed nations, the U.S. has one of the widest gaps between the rich and the poor.It’s not all bad, of course, but these are some areas where America stands out in ways it probably doesn’t want to.
Speed
Wouldn't want to be the US Secretary of State right now!
If Vance ever goes back to Europe or attends a meeting w/ European members, whom he chastized last month, he'll get a hell of a lot more stink-eyes and snide remarks by the former allies than Rubio will.
Seth M
Its G6 now, USA under Trump regime cannot be trusted, anything you tell them might be forwarded it to Putin
Tokyo Guy
Objectively speaking, Rubio is probably among the most experienced and least douchebaggy of all Trump's cabinet picks, and if even he's going to get dragged when meeting with his counterparts, then you can really tell what the general international opinion of this administration is.
HopeSpringsEternal
Marco not too worried about G-7 approval but rather helping deliver DJT's Plans for Peace and Prosperity for the entire World. G-7 leaders have failed to do so for years, including Biden Admin, hence status quo change needed!
Amber
HopeSpringsEternalToday 02:05 pm JST
Marco will be JUST fine and will likely be JD Vance's VP pick in 2028!
Of course – the whole world loves America in 2025. Bwahaha!!
Tokyo Guy
Maybe they should be in the G7. America unfortunately leads:
Incarceration Rate – The U.S. has the highest prison population and incarceration rate in the world.
Healthcare Costs – America spends more per capita on healthcare than any other country, yet has poorer outcomes compared to many developed nations.
Mass Shootings – The U.S. has more mass shootings than any other country by a significant margin.
Student Debt – The U.S. has the largest amount of student loan debt in the world.
Military Spending – The U.S. spends more on its military than the next several countries combined.
Opioid Crisis – The U.S. has some of the highest rates of opioid addiction and overdose deaths.
Food Waste – America wastes an enormous amount of food, leading global rankings in per capita food waste.
Income Inequality – Among developed nations, the U.S. has one of the widest gaps between the rich and the poor.
America also has a distressingly high number of people who will rationalise every one of those things in an attempt to convince themselves that we're still the shining city on the hill.
HopeSpringsEternal
Non US G-7 leaders understandably upset their Ukraine proxy war support did not result in Russia's defeat but rather exact opposite.
Marco Rubio is simply carrying out DJT's orders to achieve PEACE in order to stabilize the World and prevent Ukraine from becoming a Failed State.
HopeSpringsEternal
Great success, like Global Peace and Rising Prosperity will take more than 7 weeks, give Marco Rubio some time to help DJT restore the world's stability and security