G7 Finance Ministers Show Unity in Support of Ukraine Against Russia

New York Times

22-05-2025

Top economic policymakers from the United States and other advanced economies agreed on Thursday to continue to support Ukraine and warned Russia of additional sanctions if there was no progress on peace, demonstrating a rare show of unity despite festering tension over tariffs and trade.
Finance ministers and central bankers of the Group of 7 nations continued to blame Russia for the war in Ukraine, despite some initial resistance from the United States, and pledged to provide resources to help Kyiv sustain its economy and pay for its reconstruction. Officials also discussed tightening the price cap that they enacted on Russian oil exports as a measure to further squeeze Russia's economy.
'We condemn Russia's continued brutal war against Ukraine and commend the immense resilience from the Ukrainian people and economy,' they said in a joint statement, or communiqué. 'The G7 remains committed to unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its territorial integrity and right to exist, and its freedom, sovereignty and independence toward a just and durable peace.'
The statement added that if a cease-fire is not reached, 'we will continue to explore all possible options, including options to maximize pressure such as further ramping up sanctions.'
The agreement on Ukraine culminated after three days of meetings in Banff, Canada, the mountain resort where officials also discussed the risks to the global economy, confronting the threat of China's excess industrial capacity and sanctions policy. The united stance on Ukraine came despite mixed signals from President Trump, who has both threatened Russia with tougher sanctions and indicated a willingness to walk away from Ukraine and open trade ties with Moscow.
The language about Russia in the statement had a softer tone compared with a year ago, when G7 finance ministers assailed Russia's 'illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine.'
During the Biden administration, the U.S. led the development of a policy to use sanctions to cap the price of Russian oil at $60 per barrel. European officials put forward a proposal at the meetings to lower that to $50 per barrel, but no decisions were announced on the future of the cap.
The position on Ukraine came despite deep division among finance officials over Mr. Trump's aggressive approach to trade. The president's decision to slap tariffs on both allies and adversaries has fractured the global economy and created significant uncertainty, increasing the likelihood of a global downturn.
Still, the statement on trade was more muted, generally referencing a desire to address economic 'imbalances' without making a direct reference to concerns about the Trump tariffs.
'International organizations signaled at our last meeting that trade and economic policy uncertainty was high and weighing on global growth,' they wrote in the joint statement. 'We acknowledge that economic policy uncertainty has declined from its peak, and we will work together to achieve further progress.'
Since taking office, Mr. Trump has upended the global trading system with a blizzard of tariffs. He imposed a 10 percent universal tax on almost every trading partner, in addition to 25 percent tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, cars and car parts. He raised tariffs on China to a punishing 145 percent in April before reducing them to 30 percent this month to allow Beijing and Washington to negotiate a trade deal.
In April, Mr. Trump suggested severing economic ties with Canada, which is hosting the meetings this year, when he declared, 'We don't need anything' from America's northern neighbor. Mr. Trump has also repeatedly said that he wants to annex Canada and make it America's 51st state.
The G7 meetings were the first international summit for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who skipped a Group of 20 gathering in South Africa in February amid the Trump administration's opposition to that nation's land policy.
The finance officials raised their concerns with Mr. Bessent over the U.S. tariffs but they did not engage in direct negotiations over trade and there were no announcements of new deals.
'Definitely there will always be tension around tariffs,' said François-Philippe Champagne, the Canadian finance minister, who noted that Canada was America's biggest export market. 'It's quite normal when you meet your biggest customer, that there's a lot to discuss.'
Although the U.S. tariffs pose a major threat to the global economy, policymakers appeared to tread carefully in how they raised their displeasure in an effort to avoid provoking Mr. Trump.
'From the E.U. side, we still see, as always, tariffs creating negative economic effects for the E.U., for the U.S., for the global economy in general,' said Valdis Dombrovskis, the European commissioner responsible for the European Union's economy. 'The U.S. administration is having a somewhat different view or reading of the situation.'
Trade uncertainty from Mr. Trump's tariffs has been weighing on Europe. In its spring economic forecast, the European Commission, the trade bloc's administrative arm, said this week that it expected the gross domestic product of the 20 countries using the euro to grow just 0.9 percent in 2025, down from the 1.3 percent that had been forecast last fall.
Despite the concern over trade, G7 officials tried to emphasize on areas of agreement instead of focusing solely on flash points.
Mr. Champagne said that his meetings with Mr. Bessent were constructive and cordial.
'We get along very well together,' Mr. Champagne said during his closing news conference.
For his part, Mr. Bessent maintained a low profile at the meetings. He decided against delivering a public speech or holding a news conference, as Treasury secretaries traditionally do at such a summit.
'I had a very productive day,' Mr. Bessent said on Wednesday evening as he got into a car to join his G7 counterparts for a dinner atop Sulphur Mountain.