"We still have a few days to take the necessary steps to avoid a trade war between the EU and the US, and to avoid a trade war among G7 members,"  Le Maire told journalists, following a meeting of the G7 finance ministers in Canada’s mountain resort of Whistler, British Columbia. He added that it is up to the US to make the first move.

Read more

"The ball is in the camp of the United States, it is up to the American administration to take the right decisions to smooth the situation and to alleviate the difficulties," he added, as cited by Reuters. Other top officials of the world’s leading economies joined the French minister in his call for urgent actions.  The summary statement of the ministerial meeting said that "collaborative partnerships to promote free, fair, predictable and mutually beneficial trade" should be restored.

The ministers of the G7 countries also urged the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin convey their "unanimous concern and disappointment" over the recent US decisions to impose tariffs on metals imports from the EU as well as from Canada and Mexico.

On Thursday, Washington slapped its allies with import tariffs on steel and aluminum after it failed to win concessions from its trading partners. The new measures, including 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports, came into force at midnight Friday.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW