G7 trade ministers meet in Paris as global tensions and tariff threats mount
Key takeaways
- G7 trade ministers have gathered in Paris as global economic tensions intensify, with talks set to focus on critical minerals, industrial policy and trade resilience.
- By: FRANCE 24 France's junior Minister in charge of external trade Nicolas Forissier leaves after the weekly cabinet meeting at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on April 15, 2026.
- The meeting, set to last until Wednesday, is taking place as the Middle East war has upended the global economy with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally flows.
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G7 trade ministers have gathered in Paris as global economic tensions intensify, with talks set to focus on critical minerals, industrial policy and trade resilience. The meeting comes against a backdrop of Middle East turmoil and renewed US tariff threats, adding pressure to already strained efforts to coordinate a unified response among major economies.
By: FRANCE 24 France's junior Minister in charge of external trade Nicolas Forissier leaves after the weekly cabinet meeting at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on April 15, 2026. © Ludovic Marin, AFP G7 trade ministers opened a meeting in Paris on Tuesday to discuss issues including critical minerals, but were not expected to directly address the latest US threat to impose additional tariffs on European vehicles.
The meeting, set to last until Wednesday, is taking place as the Middle East war has upended the global economy with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally flows.