[Source/Observer Network, Liu Chenghui] On the local time of May 22nd, under the shadow of US tariff policy, the three-day G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting ended hastily in the Canadian town of Banff.
The dark gun barrel of US President Trump's tariffs has constantly exacerbated the differences within allies. Relevant topics are widely regarded as the focus of this meeting. However, obviously, G7 wants to "gloss over the truth".
From the joint statement issued after the meeting, countries downplayed the trade tensions caused by US tariffs. The statement mentioned "trade" only once and did not involve the topic of tariffs. However, in fact, "many officials want to talk about tariffs with the United States", and the EU once tried to push for stronger wording in the statement to reflect the negative impact of US tariffs.
Foreign media noticed that US Treasury Secretary Bessent was "unusually low-key" this time and basically avoided making public statements. US officials disclosed that Bessent and other officials privately proposed a "unified tariff policy" towards China, attempting to jointly exert pressure on China with allies, but it was not formally discussed at the meeting.
US Treasury Department officials privately discussed: wanted to impose joint tariffs on China
Reuters reported on May 22nd that due to the differences caused by US tariff policies and the US unwillingness to define the Russia-Ukraine conflict as "illegal", there were doubts whether a final joint statement would be reached.
After three days of talks, participants signed a lengthy statement, which removed previous wording about climate change responses and softened the description of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The joint statement issued by the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting released on the Canadian government website.
The Wall Street Journal noticed that the wording of this statement was quite vague, revealing almost no details of the discussions during the meeting or the commitments of various countries on trade issues. Although trade was the focus of closed-door discussions, the statement mentioned "trade" (trade) only once, and the topic did not involve tariffs.
It is said that including G7 central bank governors, the representatives present acknowledged that negotiations faced challenges, including persistent differences among countries on the issue of tariffs. However, the final joint statement ignored this point, merely stating that G7 is committed to maintaining economic security and resilience through a balanced macroeconomic policy mix that promotes growth, ensuring that all citizens share in development gains.
"International organizations pointed out at our last meeting that trade and economic policy uncertainties remain high and hinder global economic growth," the statement said. "We note that economic policy uncertainty has fallen from its peak and will work together to make greater progress."
The statement also did not mention China. However, an American official revealed that G7 privately discussed the impact of what they called China's "unfair trade practices".
The official said that one of the options discussed privately by Bessent and other US officials was a "unified tariff policy", meaning that the US and its allies would jointly implement new joint trade policies towards China to increase pressure on China.
However, this preliminary proposal is still being discussed within the Trump administration and was not mentioned at the meeting.
A spokesperson for the US Treasury Department declined to comment on the "unified tariff policy".
In the press briefing, Canadian Finance Minister Francois Beaudet refused to disclose specific details of how G7 plans to address global trade imbalances. He said that the joint statement "sent a strong signal".
As for why the statement almost ignored trade and tariff issues, he made up by saying that the ministers "did not shy away" from this issue, "tariffs are an unavoidable topic of discussion", but "wording is an art". What matters most is that the countries have reached a common position. He described this document as "clearly focused and action-oriented".
However, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said at the closing press conference: "Obviously, everyone is paying attention to tariffs. Although the joint statement emphasizes that we are happy to see a decrease in uncertainty, there is still much work to be done."
On May 21st, Banff, Alberta, Canada, G7 finance ministers and central bank governors took a group photo during the meeting. Visual China
Bessent "unusually low-key"
Reuters noticed that Bessent had previously missed the G20 finance ministers' meeting held in South Africa. His participation at this meeting brought relief to many participants. However, as the US Treasury Secretary, Bessent was unusually low-key at the meeting: he did not hold a press conference and basically avoided media attention.
"I had a very productive day," Bessent told a journalist on the 21st. This was his only public comment to the media during the meeting.
Until the meeting concluded, when Bessent left Banff, he said that there were no major differences among G7 countries, and the meeting went smoothly.
A European official attending the meeting told The Wall Street Journal that many G7 officials wanted to discuss tariffs with Bessent.
Vytautas Dombronskis, director-general of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Economic Affairs, said that although the talks were overall friendly, the EU privately pushed for stronger wording in the final G7 statement to reflect the negative impact of US trade policies on the global economy.
US officials revealed that Bessent privately urged the EU to significantly reduce or even eliminate digital services taxes as a condition for accelerating US-EU trade negotiations. Currently, France, Italy, the UK, and other countries impose such taxes on foreign technology companies providing services in their territories. The US accuses this policy of constituting unfair trade. Canadian digital tax also became a focal point of contention between the US and Canada. In February, the White House warned that retaliatory tariffs might be imposed as a result.
In terms of issues related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Bessent privately told European officials that the US was willing to increase sanctions on Russia to force Russia to negotiate with Ukraine. Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko attended this meeting.
US and EU officials said that during the meeting, G7 representatives agreed to consider imposing new sanctions on Russia as an option, particularly targeting the energy sector.
Dombronskis said that G7 finance ministers discussed proposals to further lower the price cap on Russian crude oil.
A European official said that part of the reason this plan was not mentioned in the joint statement was because Bessent believed it unnecessary, and the US "does not agree" with the proposal to lower the price cap on Russian crude oil.
Following the finance ministers' meeting, the G7 leaders' summit will be held next month. A White House spokesperson told reporters at the daily briefing on the 22nd that Trump would attend the G7 leaders' summit in Canada from June 15th to 17th.
This article is an exclusive contribution from the Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7507487492975657498/
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