BARI, Italy: US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said major trading partners “are much more comfortable” with the Trump administration’s trade policies and understand US growth will benefit them.
Mnuchin spoke after face-to-face meetings with major trade partners such as Germany, Japan and Canada at the Group of Seven (G-7) finance ministers’ meeting in Bari, Italy.
Mnuchin said his meetings with finance leaders had led to a better understanding of the US president’s position that trade must be fair and balanced as well as open. He said they understand that “we do not want to be protectionist, but we reserve our right to be protectionist to the extent we believe trade is not free and fair.”
The G-7 countries are: Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, the US and the UK; the EU also attends the informal meetings.
Earlier, the finance officials warned that long-term growth could remain subdued and that steps need to be taken to make the global economy work for everyone.
They also called for a renewed common effort against cybercrime, a timely message in the wake of Friday’s ransomware attacks in dozens of countries.
The finance meeting paves the way for a meeting of national leaders in Sicily May 26. Italy, the host country for the informal forum this year, wanted the meeting to produce separate statements about fairer growth and fighting tax evasion.
Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said that Saturday’s morning session on cybercrime was “unfortunately very timely,” an apparent reference to the wave of ransomware attacks reported Friday in dozens of countries in which files were locked and money demanded to unlock them.
The group’s agreements, presented in the form of a final statement, are not legally binding; instead, they represent the leaders’ political commitment to follow through.
Trade partners like Trump policies: Mnuchin
Trade partners like Trump policies: Mnuchin
Closing Bell: Saudi main index slips to close at 11,228
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index slipped on Sunday, lost 23.17 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 11,228.64.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR2.99 billion ($797 million), as 170 of the stocks advanced and 82 retreated.
On the other hand, the Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 449.38 points, or 1.90 percent, to close at 24,093.12. This comes as 43 of the stocks advanced while 27 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index lost 6.07 points, or 0.40 percent, to close at 1,511.36.
The best-performing stock of the day was Obeikan Glass Co., whose share price surged 7.54 percent to SR27.66.
Other top performers included Alamar Foods Co., whose share price rose 6.80 percent to SR47.10, as well as Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co., whose share price climbed 6.79 percent to SR5.66.
Saudi Investment Bank recorded the steepest drop, falling 3.21 percent to SR13.56.
Jahez International Co. for Information System Technology also saw its share price fall 3.15 percent to SR13.55.
Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. declined 2.78 percent to SR7.34.
On the announcements front, Tanmiah Food Co. reported its annual financial results for the period ending Dec. 31. According to a Tadawul statement, the company recorded a net loss of SR18.8 million, compared with a net profit of SR95.8 million a year earlier.
The net loss was mainly due to ongoing market challenges that resulted in continued pricing pressures in fresh poultry, inflationary cost pressures, higher financing expenses, and depreciation and ramp-up costs from new facilities, partially offset by increased production volumes and cost-optimization initiatives.
Tanmiah Food Co. ended the session at SR58.20, up 3.72 percent.
United International Holding Co., also known as Tas’heel, announced its annual financial results for the period ending Dec. 31. A bourse filing showed the company recorded a net profit of SR273.64 million in 2025, up 23.05 percent from 2024, primarily driven by a 23.4 percent rise in revenues. The revenue growth helped lift gross profit by 23.7 percent.
Tas’heel ended the session at SR146.80, down 0.28 percent.
