Overview
- The G7 finance ministers and central bank chiefs, who met in Paris and issued a statement Tuesday, said the Iran war has raised risks to global growth and inflation.
- They called the rapid restoration of free and safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz imperative, noting the chokepoint carries much of the world’s oil plus key inputs like fertilizers.
- The group pledged to watch market conditions with international bodies and backed stable, transparent energy and commodity trade, urging countries to avoid arbitrary export bans.
- Ministers advanced plans to diversify supplies of rare earths and other critical minerals to cut reliance on China, with France pointing to the Franco‑Japanese Caremag plant as a model.
- France said it will roll out a June fuel‑aid package after early‑May fuel tax receipts fell by about €300 million on a roughly 30% drop in consumption, signaling strain on households and haulers.