The leaders of the world’s seven richest democracies ended their meeting in Britain on Sunday. This episode of What’s Ahead explains why other than pledging to get more Covid-19 vaccines to poorer nations, this ballyhooed confab was a big-time disappointment.
Regarding President Biden’s promise of tough and united action against China, especially on its human rights abuses? The final statement was pablum. Beijing is losing no sleep here.
The summiteers endorsed a global minimum tax on large companies, which is actually politician-speak for higher exactions. This will mean less investment—how does that help growth?
Left unsaid is the behind-the-scenes schemes by bureaucrats to enact worldwide minimum taxes on the middle class.
The G7 vowed to push harder to rid the world of reliance on fossil fuels. But as Germany has experienced, big pushes for wind and solar power mean much higher energy costs—bad for economic growth and, counterintuitively, leads to more emissions. Unnecessarily expensive energy is also a growth-killer.
Next time the G7 should—but won’t—focus on bringing down tax and regulatory barriers to robust growth.