Canada highlights Ukraine at the start of the G7 Finance

The finance ministers of the G7 countries will meet in Canada starting Tuesday evening, with Kyiv as a special guest, with the challenge of developing a common position on Ukraine and smoothing out the tensions arising from the trade war initiated by Donald Trump.

This meeting, also known as the G7 Finance Meeting, is taking place as member countries (the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada) have struggled to present a united front since Donald Trump's return to the White House.

The US president has questioned aid to Ukraine, stunned his allies by imposing new tariffs, and repeated his desire to annex Canada, which is chairing the G7 this year.

The official opening of the meeting of finance ministers and central bankers is scheduled for Wednesday in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, in the setting of Banff National Park (west).

But Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne insisted on inviting his Ukrainian counterpart Sergii Marchenko on Tuesday as a sign of support for the country at war with Russia. The two men will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. local time (10 p.m. GMT).

Kyiv is seeking to convince Washington to increase pressure on Moscow through new sanctions.

The European Union (EU), which adopted a 17th package of sanctions against Moscow on Tuesday, said it hoped for a "strong reaction" from the American executive if Moscow sticks to its position.

"Clear signal"

For Europeans, one of the priorities of the G7 Finance meeting in Canada will be to ensure that the American delegation agrees to display unequivocal support for Ukraine in the final text resulting from this meeting, on which the Canadian presidency is working.

"We must send a clear signal that the G7 stands firmly with Ukraine," German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said in a statement.

"We will not be able to accept language that is completely watered down," the French Ministry of Economy told journalists on Tuesday.

Another conflict—a trade one this time—will be on everyone's minds in Banff, even though no working session will specifically address the issue of customs duties, a Canadian official indicated. The topic is certain to be addressed, particularly in bilateral discussions.

The Canadian presidency has prioritized discussions on "risks to the global economic outlook." Also on the agenda will be "the global effects of artificial intelligence," financial crime, and more.

Donald Trump caused a shockwave in early April by imposing new tariffs on most products entering the United States.

He has since partially backtracked and sealed a trade deal touted as "historic" with London.

But taxes on imported goods remain significantly higher than before he returned to the White House, raising fears of a widespread economic slowdown.

"Reaching out"

G7 members are seeking to convince the Trump administration to completely reverse its tariffs and are expected to gather in Banff around its minister, Scott Bessent.

However, no one-on-one meeting is currently on the agenda between the host minister, Canadian François-Philippe Champagne, and his American counterpart.

Tokyo told AFP that the Japanese delegation was ready to discuss with Scott Bessent "several issues between the two countries, including the exchange rate" between the dollar and the yen.

"The current trade disputes must be resolved as quickly as possible in the interest of all," pleaded the German Finance Minister, stressing that the EU continued to "reach out" to the Americans.

The US Treasury Secretary has appeared to soften Donald Trump's stance on several occasions. He also recently negotiated a detente with Beijing after tariffs reached exorbitant levels on both sides.

Within the Trump administration, "he has shown that he can be the reasonable figure," notes Carl Weinberg, chief economist at the analysis firm High Frequency Economics.

The minister remains, however, "under pressure to deliver on the president's promises," he adds.