PARIS - G7 trade ministers are set to meet in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss issues such as critical minerals and small packages but will not directly address the latest US threat to impose additional tariffs on European vehicles.
The second meeting of trade ministers under the French G7 presidency is taking place as the global economy has been upended by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil normally flows.
Discussion of the repercussions of the Middle East war is expected to dominate an informal session on Tuesday, according to the office of France's junior trade minister Nicolas Forissier.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump's threat last Friday that he will hike US tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union will likely be addressed separately.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is expected to meet with EU Trade Commission Maros Sefcovic in the French capital.
They also have a meeting scheduled with Forissier and French Economy Minister Roland Lescure.
The US and EU struck a deal last summer to cap US tariffs on EU autos and parts at 15 percent, which is lower than the 25-percent duty that Trump imposed on many other trading partners.
In late March, EU lawmakers gave their green light to the bloc's tariff deal with Trump, but with conditions. It must still be approved by member countries.
"Our position for the moment is not to overreact," said Forissier's office.
"We will discuss it among Europeans when the time comes, but in any case not within the framework of the G7," it added.
"This agreement is useful and we must continue to implement it."
- AFP