G-7 Draft Text Warns of ‘Excessive Imbalances' in Global Economy
Financial ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven nations pledged to address 'excessive imbalances' in the global economy, a effort clearly aimed at China, though a draft communique seen by Bloomberg News omitted the name of the country.
The officials said there was a need for a common understanding of how 'non-market policies and practices' undermine global economic security. They said they agreed 'on the importance of a level playing field and taking a broadly coordinated approach to address the harm caused by those who do not abide by the same rules and lack transparency.'
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Politico
27 minutes ago
- Politico
Trump wants to score trade deals in Canada. He's unlikely to get them.
President Donald Trump will arrive in the Canadian Rockies on Sunday for a meeting of the world's economic powerhouses facing a potentially calamitous tariff deadline and a burgeoning crisis in the Middle East. But he's unlikely to leave the three-day summit with a breakthrough on either front. Trump is eager to use the G7 meetings to show progress toward an array of trade deals with the U.S.'s most critical allies. The gathering also takes on heightened importance in the wake of an Israeli attack on Iran that sent oil prices skyrocketing and injected fresh uncertainty into the global economy. But Trump officials are struggling to lock down trade pacts that they predicted were imminent in the wake of a first deal with the U.K. nearly a month ago. Even early chatter of a deal with Japan by this week's conference appears unlikely, said two people close to the White House, granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. And now, with the U.S. occupied by turmoil in the Middle East, Trump aides and advisers are tempering expectations for what the G7 may ultimately produce. 'Everybody just wants to survive,' said Ivo Daalder, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and a former U.S. ambassador to NATO. 'There's not a lot of interest in making deals.' In a call with reporters on Friday, a senior U.S. official granted anonymity to preview the summit offered little in the way of specific goals, saying only that Trump sought to 'make progress' in a range of areas including 'making America's trade relationships fair and reciprocal.' The lowered stakes reflect the plodding pace of negotiations with economic partners since April, when Trump blew up their trade ties in pursuit of new deals that he's insisted must be more favorable to the United States. Leaders across Europe are projecting resolve despite the prospect of punishing tariffs come early July. The reduced expectations also underscore how quickly Trump's return to office has fractured the close Western alliance that the U.S. long claimed to lead. Whereas the G7 once prided itself on speaking with one authoritative voice on critical economic and national security matters, most leaders are now just hoping to escape the summit site in Kananaskis, Alberta, without opening a new front in their fight with Trump, diplomatic experts and others involved in the summit preparations said. The G7 countries have already abandoned hopes of signing a traditional joint statement, upending decades of precedent over worries that Trump and his counterparts are too far apart on a number of key issues. The nations instead plan to issue a handful of 'leaders' statements' on more specific issues where all or most of them can reach agreement. The move averts the risk of a repeat of the last Canada-hosted summit, when Trump in 2018 abruptly rejected the statement via an incensed tweet from Air Force One. Back then, negotiators had spent hours haggling over a single word in a line related to trade amid Trump's vows to impose steeper tariffs on allies, said one of the people close to the White House. But shortly after reaching agreement, then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized the U.S. tariffs, enraging Trump and prompting him to pull his support. New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has sought to sidestep conflict with the rest of his agenda as well, with multilateral meetings on topics like energy security and drug trafficking aimed at emphasizing areas of common ground. As for the White House, it's shied away from making grand promises. A potential trade deal with Japan is unlikely to be finalized. And while officials cautioned that Trump could always broker a surprise agreement in meetings with other world leaders, there's little expectation that the summit will yield more than commitments to keep talking. 'Everyone's in really different spots in their trade relationships,' one of the people close to the White House said of the several parallel efforts to strike new trade agreements. 'I would be shocked if they came out with anything like the U.K.-U.S. framework in that environment.' Still, Trump and his aides view the G7 as a high-profile opportunity to reassert American primacy over even their closest allies, said advisers and others involved in the global preparations. Trump is likely to jump at any chance to demonstrate his administration's strength on the world stage, even if just rhetorically — forcing the rest of the group to decide when to go along and when to risk confrontation. 'A success on the U.S. side would be going to the summit and being seen as not being pushed around by other leaders,' said Caitlin Welsh, a former senior National Security Council official during Trump's first term. The president may get plenty of opportunities to cultivate that image. In addition to trade issues, Trump's response to Israel's attack on Iran will be closely watched for clues as to whether the U.S. will join the fray. Trump is also likely to face greater pressure to impose sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine — a step that he's publicly floated but remains reluctant to take. The president on Thursday said he was 'very disappointed in Russia' over its resistance to peace talks. But he quickly added that he was 'very disappointed in Ukraine also' in a sign of the wide gap between Trump's attitude toward the war and the rest of the G7's steadfast support for Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was among those invited by Carney, has vowed to seek another sitdown with Trump at the summit. But even the prospect of a brief meeting has raised some concerns within the G7 over whether it's worth the risk that at any moment Trump and Zelenskyy's relationship could go sideways again — and sink U.S. support for Ukraine in the process. 'The value is only in maintaining the status quo,' Daalder said of discussions with Trump on the topic. But for Trump, the trade war that has consumed his first months in office is just as likely to dominate his three days in Canada. The president is expected to hold a series of bilateral meetings on the summit's sidelines, as the administration tries to push ahead trade deals in differing stages of negotiation. Trump has also tried to up the pressure on his G7 allies, vowing to greenlight a market-rattling return to steep tariffs on July 9 should they fail to clinch agreements in the coming weeks. The push still isn't expected to generate any quick victories in an area where negotiations are often measured in years rather than weeks. Yet allies in the U.S. and abroad are hoping that simply being back at the center of it all, surrounded by world leaders eager for a bit of his time, will prove enough progress for Trump to call off an even more severe trade war. 'He's completely comfortable with an outcome that ends in tariffs,' one of the people close to the White House said. 'But a lot of it depends on whether there's progress being made, and if he feels the countries are serious.' Amy Mackinnon contributed to this report.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
U.K. PM Starmer in Ottawa to talk trade, Middle East conflict with Carney ahead of G7
OTTAWA - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is in Ottawa to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney today before the two leaders leave for the G7 leaders' summit in Alberta. He will meet Carney this morning in his West Block office on Parliament Hill before both leaders fly separately to Calgary. Last night, Starmer had dinner with Carney at his official residence at Rideau Cottage, later taking in the hockey game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers. Starmer's visit comes as Canada seeks to reopen trade talks with the U.K. which were paused early in 2024, leaving in place a temporary deal signed after Brexit. There's a sticking point around Britain wanting to ban exports of hormone-treated beef from Canada and calls from British farmers to export more cheese to Canada's protected dairy sector. The conflict in the Middle East is likely also on the agenda after the exchange of missiles between Israel and Iran and both countries call for de-escalation while affirming Israel's right to defence. Starmer says he has positioned British jets for 'contingency support in the region,' The Associated Press reports. Last month both leaders joined French President Emmanuel Macron to sign a strongly worded statement about Israel's restrictions on food aid reaching the Gaza Strip. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Reeves: UK urges de-escalation in Middle East crisis
Chancellor Rachel Reeves says the UK is deploying jets and other assets to the Middle East to protect British and allied interests, while urging calm amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran. She stresses the PM is working with G7 allies to avoid wider conflict. .
