BANFF, CANADA
\nTalks among G7 finance ministers faced challenges Wednesday as the group worked to overcome divides on thorny issues like the impact of US President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs and support for Ukraine.
\nWith discussions set to close Thursday, hopes for a final communique reflecting unity among the Group of Seven advanced economies remained uncertain, as tensions persist on Trump\u2019s trade policies.
\nThe day began with an exchange of pleasantries and the traditional group photo in front of snow-capped mountains at a hotel in western Canada\u2019s Banff National Park. But friction among the group \u2014 comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States \u2014 emerged shortly after meetings began. Italian Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said the start of the talks faced \u201csome difficulties.\u201d But he added that the group was \u201cable to overcome these differences,\u201d and voiced hope a final statement reflecting G7 unity could be reached.
\nFew concrete details emerged from Wednesday\u2019s talks but US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had been expected to face pushback on Trump\u2019s tariffs, which threaten to drag down global economic growth. Bessent described Wednesday\u2019s talks as \u201cvery productive.\u201d
\nThe meeting\u2019s host, Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, declined to say whether he raised the issue of tariffs in his bilateral meeting with Bessent, but insisted the pair \u201cget along very well.\u201d
\nAsked about friction in the talks, Champagne said: \u201cThat\u2019s why we have meetings, we have frank discussions.\u201d\u201dWe\u2019re both pleased about the progress we\u2019re making and the sense of unity of the G7,\u201d Champagne told reporters. Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters that during his meeting with Bessent, he affirmed that US tariffs were \u201cextremely regrettable\u201d and \u201cnot always an appropriate measure to adjust trade imbalances.\u201d Trump has repeatedly complained about US trade deficits, and at times implied his global tariffs were partly aimed at balancing US exports and imports. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BANFF, CANADA Talks among G7 finance ministers faced challenges Wednesday as the group worked to overcome divides on thorny issues like the impact of US President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs and support for Ukraine. With discussions set to close Thursday, hopes for a final communique reflecting unity among the Group of Seven advanced economies remained uncertain, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-480251","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n