G7 and the doublespeak of war

In 50 years, the tables have turned on trade deficit but the G7 economies continue to absolve themselves of igniting conflicts

- AMOL AGRAWAL

THE G7 MEETING in Canada last month made waves, mainly for the wrong reasons. US President Donald Trump did not just leave the meeting in the middle but also attacked Iran, pushing the world to the brink of another world war. The G7 was established 50 years ago, but things have not changed much since then.

The start of the 1970s brought multiple economic crises in the world economy—the breakdown of Bretton Woods, oil shock, and dual problems of high inflation and high unemployment. To address the crises, in 1973, then US treasury secretary George Schulz held an informal meeting with the finance ministers of the UK, France, and Germany. In mid-1973, Japan was added, making it G5.

In 1975, most of the G5 countries went through political turmoil and leadership changes. Given the crisis in geopolitics and geoeconomics, the French presidency organised the first formal meeting of the G5, with Italy as the sixth member, at Chateau de Rambouillet. G6 decided to meet every year under a rotational presidency, and added Canada as the seventh member to become G7. Over 50 years, G7 became a major platform for advanced economies to coordinate their economic policies. In 1981, the European Economic Community was made an informal member and was replaced by the European Union in 2009. Russia was made a member in 1998, but its membership was suspended after it annexed Crimea in 2014.

Fast forward to now, the G7 meeting was held at Kananaskis, Canada. When we compare the declarations 50 years apart, we see both similarities and differences.