LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) – Britain’s finance minister will urge her G7 counterparts on Monday not to pursue unilateral measures such as new trade barriers while the Iran war continues, saying such steps could further threaten energy security.
During a meeting with G7 finance ministers, energy ministers and central bank governors, Rachel Reeves will say the G7 “should act together, not in ways that shift pressure onto partners or weaken collective resilience”, a statement released by her ministry said.
The Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations includes the U.S., Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, along with the European Union.
Reeves is expected to say that protectionism and new trade barriers could disrupt supply chains and drive up costs, and that cooperation is vital to keep energy and goods flowing and to bring down bills over time.
The war on Iran launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28 has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands of people and hitting the world economy with the biggest-ever disruption to global energy supplies.
(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Helen Popper)