Finance chiefs from many of the world’s leading rich nations pressed the United States on Friday not to break a decades-long global consensus in areas such as trade and financial regulation criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Inequality, international tax rules and cyber security headed the official agenda for Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers who kicked off a two-day meeting in the southern Italian port city of Bari.
But Trump’s threats to end a multilateral approach to policies from trade to climate change dominated discussions inside the walls of a 12th century Norman castle.
“We need a strong United States to lead the global economy and global politics in a sustainable way,” said German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble when asked his message for U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Later, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said he and other ministers told Mnuchin not to weaken global policies that