BANFF, Canada: Top finance leaders from the G7 group of nations gathered in Canada for talks beginning Tuesday, with the war in Ukraine and economic turmoil unleashed by US President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs at the top of minds.
\nIn meetings through Thursday, leaders will discuss global economic conditions and seek a common position on Ukraine, whose representatives have been invited to attend.
\nUkraine\u2019s presence \u201csends a strong message to the world\u201d that members are recommitting to support the country against Russia\u2019s invasion, Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters Tuesday.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re also going to talk about what we\u2019re going to be doing in terms of reconstruction,\u201d he said in a joint press conference with Ukrainian counterpart Sergii Marchenko.
\nThe talks in Canada\u2019s western province of Alberta come amid an uncertain approach among the G7 democracies toward Ukraine following Trump\u2019s return to power.
\nOnce broadly unified, the G7 \u2014 Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States \u2014 has been rattled by Trump, who reached out to Russia and slapped tariffs on both allies and competitors.
\nMarchenko said he would seek during the meetings to reiterate Ukraine\u2019s position on the need for more pressure on Russia.<\/p>\n
While Trump\u2019s levies are not formally on the agenda, a Canadian official told reporters that \u201ctrade and tariffs will be embedded in the discussion on the global economy.\u201d
\nEconomists warn tariffs could fuel inflation and weigh on growth, and the effects of US trade policy loom over Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent\u2019s engagements.
\nAsked about talks with Bessent, Champagne said Tuesday that despite tension around tariffs, both sides are looking to coordinate actions and tackle concerns including excess industrial capacity, non-market practices and financial crimes.
\n\u201cThe spirit around the table is constructive,\u201d he said.
\nA source briefed on US participation expects China\u2019s excess industrial capacity to be discussed, with members sharing concerns on the issue.
\nA Japanese official told AFP its finance minister plans for a meeting with Bessent, seeking to address topics like foreign exchange.
\nWhile the grouping discusses policies and solutions to issues like trade, security and climate change, analysts warned of unpredictability this time amid internal tensions.<\/p>\n
The gathering in picturesque Banff will be \u201ca test or signal\u201d of the G7\u2019s ability to agree on a final statement,\u201d a French finance ministry official told reporters Tuesday.
\nAlthough Canada\u2019s presidency hopes to issue a communique, this outcome must reflect \u201ca shared understanding of the global economic situation and common goals in addressing the challenges,\u201d the official said.
\n\u201cWe will not be able to accept language that is completely watered down.\u201d
\nThe source briefed on US participation said Washington is not inclined to \u201cdo a communique just for the sake of doing a communique,\u201d noting a consensus should align with Trump administration priorities too.
\nGerman Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil warned Tuesday that trade disputes with the United States should be resolved as soon as possible.
\nIn comments before meeting his counterparts, Klingbeil said tariffs and uncertainties are a burden on the economy and job security.
\nTrump has slapped a blanket 10 percent tariff on most US trading partners, threatening higher rates on economies including the European Union and sending jitters through the world economy.
\nOfficials told AFP they are not expecting trade agreements this week, but said the gathering is another chance to find common ground.
\nBut the issue of sanctions on Russia remains uncertain.
\nTrump said Russia and Ukraine would start peace talks after he spoke Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while the EU formally adopted a new round of Russia sanctions Tuesday.
\nA source briefed on US participation maintained that all options remain regarding sanctions, but these should be aimed at outcomes like the peace process<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BANFF, Canada: Top finance leaders from the G7 group of nations gathered in Canada for talks beginning Tuesday, with the war in Ukraine and economic turmoil unleashed by US President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs at the top of minds. In meetings through Thursday, leaders will discuss global economic conditions and seek a common position on Ukraine, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":81339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81325"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81341,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81325\/revisions\/81341"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}