G7 to start amid Trump trade tensions and Iran-Israel crisis
Good morning and welcome to our US politics blog
When Donald Trump last came to Canada for a G7 summit, the enduring image was of him seated with his arms folded defiantly as then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel stared daggers at him.
If there is a shared mission at this year’s G7 summit, which begins Monday in Canada’s Rocky Mountains, it is a desire to minimize any fireworks at a moment of combustible tensions.
Trump already has hit several dozen nations with severe tariffs that risk a global economic slowdown. There is little progress on settling the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and now a new and escalating conflict between Israel and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Add to all of that the problems of climate change, immigration, drug trafficking, new technologies such as artificial intelligence and China’s continued manufacturing superiority and chokehold on key supply chains.
So it looks like the Trump, and the leaders of Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Canada are in for a busy time.
Stay with us for all the developments:
In other news:
Key events
A custody photo has been released of the man suspected of killing a Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another, who crawled to officers in surrender Sunday after they located him in the woods near his home, ending a massive, nearly two-day search that put the entire state on edge.
Vance Boelter was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and two of attempted murder. He is accused of posing as a police officer and fatally shooting former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs.
Authorities say he also shot Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette. They were injured at their residence about 9 miles (about 15 kilometers) away.
Investors are gearing up for key central bank meetings this week, with a particular eye on the US Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan, as well as talks with Washington aimed at avoiding Donald Trump’s sky-high tariffs.
At the G7 summit in the Canadian Rockies, the Middle East crisis will be discussed along with trade in light of Trump’s tariff blitz.
Investors are also awaiting bank policy meetings, with the Fed and BoJ the standouts.
Both are expected to stick to their decisions for now but traders will be keeping a close watch on their statements for an idea about the plans for interest rates, with US officials under pressure from Trump to cut.
G7 to start amid Trump trade tensions and Iran-Israel crisis
Good morning and welcome to our US politics blog
When Donald Trump last came to Canada for a G7 summit, the enduring image was of him seated with his arms folded defiantly as then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel stared daggers at him.
If there is a shared mission at this year’s G7 summit, which begins Monday in Canada’s Rocky Mountains, it is a desire to minimize any fireworks at a moment of combustible tensions.
Trump already has hit several dozen nations with severe tariffs that risk a global economic slowdown. There is little progress on settling the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and now a new and escalating conflict between Israel and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Add to all of that the problems of climate change, immigration, drug trafficking, new technologies such as artificial intelligence and China’s continued manufacturing superiority and chokehold on key supply chains.
So it looks like the Trump, and the leaders of Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Canada are in for a busy time.
Stay with us for all the developments:
In other news:
The White House has stayed decidedly mum about its goals for the G7, which originated as a 1973 finance ministers’ meeting to address the oil crisis and steadily evolved into a yearly summit that is meant to foster personal relationships among world leaders and address global problems.
There is no plan for a joint statement this year from the G7, a sign that the Trump administration sees no need to build a shared consensus with fellow democracies if it views such a statement as contrary to its goals of new tariffs, more fossil fuel production and a Europe that is less dependent on the U.S. military.
“The Trump administration almost certainly believes that no deal is better than a bad deal,” said Caitlin Welsh, a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank who was part of Trump’s team for the G7 in Trump’s first term.