US President Donald Trump raises his fist as he gets out of the Air Force when he arrives at Calgary International Airport, before it starts in Alberta, Canada on June 15, 2025.
Dave Chidley | AFP | Getty Images
Continuing trade instability and disruption in Ukraine and the Middle East will control consultations as the world’s largest highly advanced economic force leaders gather in Canada for this year’s group’s Seven (G7) summit.
Due to the uncertainty about these key issues that arise primarily from White House economic and foreign policy, allies are likely to ask whether US President Donald Trump will stand with them or oppose them on a major geopolitical point.
The G7 consists of representatives of the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the European Union and other guest participants. Leaders from Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Ukraine, South Africa and South Korea have also been invited to this year’s gathering.
These summits aim to promote consensus on the biggest global economic and geopolitical challenges and coordinate actions to address them.
But the problem with the group this year is that there is an array of Trump’s trade tariffs and a potential global trade war looming as a live threat, with the exception of the UK, which signed a trade deal with Washington in May.
The summit aims to make a 90-day suspension on Trump’s “mutual” tariffs remains in effect, with Japan and the EU aiming to trade before the July 9 deadline.
Canada has been hit with a 25% tariff on automobiles and a 50% duty to import steel and aluminum, but goods covered by the USMCA trade agreement, including Mexico, are also subject to the obligation. Canada retaliated There is a 25% tariff on US importsAlthough some of them have been stopped to protect domestic industry.
Bystander trade consultation
The bilateral meeting between Trump and leaders looking for a trade deal will be held at the G7 summit in the coming days, but it is uncertain how a Big Bang deal will be struck.
It certainly appears that host Canada is abandoning the usual communicature issued at the end of the G7 Summit and abandoning plans for the group to work together to tackle the joint challenges.
This could try to avoid repeated fierce conclusions about the previous summit held in Canada in 2018. The 2019 summit in France was the last gathering Trump attended.
President Donald Trump will arrive at a press conference on August 26, 2019 at the end of the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France.
Carlos Barrier | Reuters
“The G7 was formed 50 years ago, so the world’s advanced economic democracy could be tailored to the shared economic and geopolitical challenges. But what happens when the cause of instability comes from within the G7?
“Trump tries to adjust [G7] Group against China’s economic coercion. But the rest of the leaders may return to Trump and say that this kind of adjustment, which is central to why the G7 works, will be easier if he doesn’t impose tariffs on allies,” he added.
Other elephants in the room
There are also the troubling issues of support for Ukraine, or the fact that Russian rehabilitation is on the fence for further sanctions in Moscow, and the recent escalating crisis in the Middle East. The attack between Israel and Iran has killed hundreds, raising concerns about the global economy.
Israel’s solid allies intervened to help fire down Iran’s missiles, but other global leaders called for the tension to be dismantled.
According to analysts, the background to this tariff and dispute could cause fireworks at Canada’s June summit.
“When Trump last attended the G7 Leader Summit in Canada in 2018, he treated it like a reality TV show,” an analyst at the Center for Strategy and International Studies said in an analysis ahead of the conference.
“The meeting could be even more controversial than his last visit, as Trump’s tariff war is in full swing and targets other countries in attendance,” they noted. To avoid another tragic end to the G7 Summit, CSIS said global leaders need to acknowledge Trump’s concerns “about US global leadership.”
“In previous conferences, G7 members have made their interest clear in addressing technological advancements, public health, major wars, and other issues beyond the traditional mission of the group. Today, as many international organizations are paralyzed by geopolitical rivals, the world needs more coordinated action than ever,” they say.
