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The G7 tax deal agreed by the world’s leading advanced nations this weekend is the first substantive proof of revived international co-operation since President Joe Biden brought the US back to the negotiating table. Yet there is still a long road ahead before it can be implemented.

“This is a starting point,” said French finance minister Bruno Le Maire, pledging that “in the coming months we will fight to ensure that this minimum corporate tax rate is as high as possible”.

The accord aims to close loopholes multinationals have exploited to reduce their tax bills, ensuring they pay more in the nations where they operate.

G7 ministers backed a global minimum rate of at least 15 per cent, and agreed that countries should have the right to tax a certain proportion of the largest, most profitable multinationals’ profit in the locations where it is generated.

Go deeper: The FT view calls the weekend’s deal between G7 finance ministers a game-changing opportunity to reverse the process of big multinationals funnelling profits through low-tax jurisdictions — and ensure companies are visibly making a fair contribution to the post-pandemic recovery. For it to succeed, they write, the world’s largest economies more broadly will need to sign up. But it is in their own interest to do so.

Coronavirus digest

• The US will donate 750,000 Covid-19 vaccines to Taiwan, signalling its support for the country after Taipei accused Beijing of interfering in its efforts to secure jabs.

• India prepares to ease lockdown rules as coronavirus case numbers decline to the lowest in two months (Reuters)

• Anthony Fauci, The White House chief medical adviser, has become a lightning rod in a politicised debate over the origins of Covid-19. He is facing calls to resign from the American rightwing. “It worries me about what it says about this country,” he told reporter Kiran Stacey.

• The Covid-19 pandemic is over in Norway, according to one of the doctors leading the response. It has the lowest infection rate since last summer, but caution is urged while local outbreaks remain

• The UK plans to offer Covid vaccines to teens later this year

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In the news

Merkel’s party surges in German state vote, beating far right Germany’s Christian Democrats won a decisive victory in elections in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, in a huge boost for their leader Armin Laschet and his bid to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor in September.

Markets in suspense as Peruvians vote in close election Financial markets were on tenterhooks as Peruvians voted on Sunday in one of the most polarised elections in the country’s history, with private polls showing the candidates neck and neck. The election pits Pedro Castillo, a rural primary school teacher turned hard-left populist, against Keiko Fujimori, the widely disliked daughter of Peru’s authoritarian former president Alberto Fujimori.

Dubai Reit faces fight ahead of Islamic bond restructuring vote A group of international lenders is battling for greater transparency and governance changes at a major Dubai real estate investment trust ahead of a crunch vote on its restructuring plans on Monday, marking a rare case of investor activism in the Gulf.

Kremlin may restrict more food exports to shield it from high prices Russia has warned that it is prepared to expand its export curbs on key food products after recent price rises prompted the Kremlin to cap the domestic cost of staple goods such as sugar and flour, the country’s economy minister said.

Volkswagen nears €10m settlement from former chief Martin Winterkorn Volkswagen will recommend that its shareholders accept a settlement of approximately €10m from former boss Martin Winterkorn, according to people familiar with the matter. Winterkorn was in charge of the group in the lead-up to the diesel emissions scandal in 2015, in which 11m vehicles were found to be fitted with software that duped emissions tests.

Japan looks to debut vaccine passport this summer Japan intends to issue Covid-19 inoculation certificates this summer to vaccinated residents travelling abroad, hoping to give business travel and other economic activities a boost. (Nikkei)

Democratic senator says he will vote against Biden voting rights bill The conservative Democratic senator Joe Manchin, who holds a swing vote in the US Senate, on Sunday vowed to block a bill overhauling US election law, presenting a major setback to Joe Biden’s efforts to reform voting rights.

The days ahead

China trade and foreign exchange reserves data Figures for May will be released on Monday. At the end of last month, China’s central bank instructed financial institutions to hold more foreign exchange in reserve after the yuan hit a three-year high against the dollar. (Reuters)

Johnson and Biden thrown together by geopolitical necessity Joe Biden’s first overseas trip as US president this week, for the G7 summit, will include three days at a boutique Cornish hotel in the company of Boris Johnson, the British prime minister he memorably described in 2019 as “a physical and emotional clone” of Donald Trump.

Thailand starts vaccine rollout Thailand will launch its Covid-19 immunisation programme today, focused mostly on the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab produced at Siam Bioscience, a company owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn that has never previously produced a vaccine. Infections are surging in the country, with 2,000-4,000 reported new cases a day — the highest since the start of the pandemic.

Apple’s WWDC kicks off Apple is holding its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which will be entirely digital for the second year in a row. (Barron’s)

What else we’re reading

A new capital in the Egyptian desert: Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced that the inauguration of a “New Administrative Capital” covering a swath of desert equal to the size of Singapore, would represent the “birth of a new state”. With private developments alongside military projects, the goal is to have 6.5m people living in the city. Critics consider it a vanity project, writes Andrew England, and say the expansion of the military’s role in the state and the economy is crowding out the private sector and scaring away foreign investors.

Interview: Female gaming pioneer shakes up SoftBank’s board Masayoshi Son turned to a friend of four decades, Keiko Erikawa, to become the Japanese technology group’s new female board member. Erikawa is known for a different management style to the high-risk approach of the tech billionaire, writes Kana Inagaki: the $7.5bn gaming company she co-founded with her husband has never made an employee redundant or made a loss in its 43 years.

Politicians should set new ground rules for digital markets Tech companies have too much economic power over workers and consumers, writes Rana Foroohar. We need to rebalance the market system itself, so that players on both sides of any given transaction have equal access to information, a shared understanding of what is being bought and sold and a common set of rules.

Do you speak wine? Over the past few decades, as interest in wine has grown, descriptions — so-called tasting notes — have become ever more extravagant. Professional tasters grasp for words like “dried strawberry, iodine, oyster shell, wet earth, fresh mushrooms, flowers, ripe dark peaches and nectarines.” But change to the language we use to talk about wine is coming, writes Jancis Robinson.

Return to work woes Pollsters consistently find that only a minority of employees who can work remotely want to return to the office full-time. That means an almighty showdown is looming between bosses who want everyone back in HQ and their workers, writes Pilita Clark. She implores, “Don’t make me go back to hard pants five days a week.”

Cartoon of the day

Japan set to extend Covid-19 state of emergency as Olympics loom