G7 Summit Opens Under a Cloud as Trade and Iran Crowd the Agenda
Leaders gather in France with a draft communique that papers over deep splits on tariffs, Ukraine financing, and Middle East policy.
The Group of Seven summit got under way in France with a much narrower set of deliverables than host officials had hoped for, as disputes over tariffs, Ukraine financing, and how to engage Iran consumed the opening sessions.
President Trump arrived hours after publicly floating a fresh round of duties on European steel and pharmaceuticals, complicating attempts by European leaders to extract a joint statement on industrial policy. Officials briefed on the talks said language on Russia's frozen sovereign assets had been watered down again, with Italy and Germany pushing back on proposals to use the principal — not just the interest — to backstop Ukrainian reconstruction.
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