G7 finance leaders concerned by trade dispute
Finance leaders of the closest U.S. allies vented anger over the Trump administration’s metal import tariffs
This ended a three-day meeting with a stern rebuke of Washington and setting up a heated fight at a G7 summit next week in Quebec.
In a rare show of division among the normally harmonious club of wealthy nations, the six other G7 member countries issued a statement asking U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to convey their “unanimous concern and disappointment” about the tariffs to President Donald Trump.
The 25 percent steel and 10 percent aluminium tariffs were imposed this week on Mexico, Canada and the European Union after temporary exemptions expired.
“We’re concerned that these actions are actually not conducive to helping our economy, they actually are destructive, and that is consistently held across the six countries that expressed their point of view to Secretary Mnuchin,” Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau said at a news conference after the meeting ended in the Canadian mountain resort town of Whistler, British Columbia.
Published: by Radio NewsHub