Trump insists G7 trade talks 'extremely productive'

President Donald Trump said today his talks with fellow G7 leaders on trade had been "extremely productive" and that he would prefer a tariff-free world if other countries would only treat the United States fairly.

Briefing reporters immediately before cutting short his stay at the conference in Quebec and heading to Singapore for a nuclear summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump firmly denied the G7 meeting had been contentious.

"No tariffs, no barriers. That's the way it should be. And no subsidies. I even said, 'no tariffs,'" Trump insisted, while defending his decision to impose a global tariff on US imports of steel and aluminum. "We had extremely productive discussions on the need to have fair and reciprocal" trade, he said.

"We want and expect other nations to provide fair market access to American exports and that we will take whatever steps are necessary to (protect) industry and workers from unfair practices, of which there are many. But we're getting them worked out, slowly but surely.