G20 CONCERNED BY PROTECTIONISM
Disagreement remains over whether to address trade friction through bilateral or multilateral framework
GROUP of 20 finance leaders will likely reflect many members’ concerns over “inward-looking” policies like protectionism in its communique, , said Japan’s vice-finance minister Minoru Kihara .
In a sign negotiations over the communique’s wording were ongoing, however, another senior Japanese finance ministry official said disagreement remained over whether to address trade friction through a bilateral or multilateral framework.
World financial leaders pleaded for an endorsement of free trade amid worries about United States metals tariffs and looming trade sanctions on China, but Trump administration officials said they would not sacrifice US national interests.
Japan told its G20 counterparts that protectionism benefits no country and was among key risks to the global economy as it would shrink trade, said Kihara on Monday.
“Many countries expressed concern over inward-looking policies. It’s unthinkable for such voices to not be reflected in the G20 communique,” he said.
Fears of a trade war overshadowed the Buenos Aires meeting of G20 finance leaders, which was meant to discuss a brightening economic outlook, cryptocurrencies and infrastructure.
The other senior Japanese finance ministry official said the G20 communique’s wording on trade won’t deviate too much from that of the Hamburg summit communique issued last year that underlined the importance of a “rules-based international trading system”.
But he said there was still no consensus on whether to address global imbalances through a multilateral framework — an approach that had largely been a G20 consensus — or a bilateral one preferred by US President Donald Trump.
“While there were concerns raised on bilateral protectionism, many countries also talked about global imbalances ... and how they must be looked at from a global perspective rather than a bilateral one,” said the official.