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While the G7 has developed over the years into the most important forum for like-minded nations committed to safeguarding economic and political freedoms, the question remains on whether such an effort will stay high on the countries’ agenda given uncertain domestic political situations in several member countries. This article analyses why doubts remain as its future capacity to act.

The United States (US) and the European Union (EU) appear poised to take joint action on some of their biggest common challenges in trade and technology, including export controls, China’s non-market practices, and possibly even artificial intelligence (AI).

What the group has been particularly known for is its role in attending to globalisation and discussing global challenges in economic terms. Therein also lies its conundrum: since globalisation’s “peak” in the early 2010s, the format has appeared outdated and criticised for its narrow global representation and increasing ineffectualness. Not anymore: the Hiroshima G7 might be seen, in time, as a turning point in answering what comes after globalisation.

There is newfound urgency on both sides of the Atlantic. The rekindling of a transatlantic sense of purpose following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is seen keenly in the Joint Statement released after the second Ministerial Meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in Saclay on 15 and 16 May. Areas for cooperation across the TTC’s 10 constituent working groups, identified in the first meeting in Pittsburgh, have been looked at anew.

At the third Trade and Technology Council (TTC) ministerial on December 5, trade and supply chain challenges will be at the top of the agenda, but not for the right reasons. Previous aspirations for stronger collaboration and joint initiatives are being overshadowed by new transatlantic trade tensions. The US Inflation Reduction Act’s local content requirements for electric cars and batteries are regarded in Europe as a bid for its manufacturing base and go against prior TTC commitments and WTO rules.