FOR world leaders and diplomats at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, US President-elect Donald Trump was the man who cannot be named.
Almost nobody would mention the next occupant of the White House directly, even as his impending return to power hung over the meeting.
Leaders would instead talk in coded terms about the “next administration,” “turbulence” and “change.”
But it was clear what they meant, even as they sought to avoid falling out with the man who will be at work in the Oval Office from January 20.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who expended considerable effort trying to win over Trump during the American’s first term, made veiled comments at the summit about tariffs and climate.
“Any fragmentation or fracturing of the international order by tariff policies which are carried out by the strongest simply leads all others not to respect it,” Macron said – without referring to Trump by name.
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Trump has pledged to impose sweeping tariffs on imports into the United States, including on goods from Europe and as much as 60 per cent on goods from China.
Macron also referred to “fragile” climate policies, with Trump threatening to take the United States back out of the Paris accords that are aimed at reducing global warming.
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