THE European Union (EU) will tell a meeting of finance leaders from the world’s 20 biggest economies this week that they must all tackle the root causes of global trade tensions because they are putting global growth at risk, an EU document showed.

Finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies are to meet in Washington on Thursday and Friday to discuss the main challenges to the world economy. The talks will be dominated by political risks such as trade disputes and Britain’s departure from the EU, officials say.

“Current trade tensions put the ongoing expansion at risk and are therefore a source of concern,” a joint position paper agreed by EU finance ministers said Saturday.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its April World Economic Outlook last week that an escalation of the Sino-U.S. trade war could reduce U.S. growth by up to 0.6 percent and China’s by up to 1.5 percent.

“The international community has to tackle the root causes of the ongoing trade tensions by ensuring a level playing field for open and free trade in goods and services, investment and intellectual property rights,” the joint EU statement said.

The United States is in talks with the European Union on a trade deal after imposing tariffs on European steel and aluminum last year and threatening to impose tariffs on European cars.

“We reaffirm our commitment to keep the global economy open as well as rules-based, to support an inclusive multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its center and to keep international economic cooperation on track,” the EU said.

The EU believes the WTO is the best way to deal with trade disputes but that it should be reformed to address U.S. and its own concerns.

Britain’s exit from the European Union is also likely to be widely discussed at the G20, Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis said Saturday.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz will urge financial leaders at G20 to strive for a minimum level of corporate taxation globally and increase debt transparency in developing countries.

In a preview of the April 12-14 IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that global growth has lost momentum amid rising trade tensions and tighter financial conditions.

Scholz sees a minimum level of corporate taxation globally as an important step to prevent digital companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon from booking profits in low-tax countries rather than where their customers are located.

German government officials said that the talks in Washington should bring progress on this front and that Scholz hoped for an agreement among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) by mid-2020. (SD-Agencies)