US and partners wrestle over trade
baden-baden — US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin headed into a tussle over free trade on Friday at a summit that will help set the tone for the global economy.
The Group of 20 gathering will be dominated by the question of how strongly to oppose trade protectionism, particularly after US President Donald Trump vowed to impose border taxes and rewrite free trade deals.
The focus will be on a joint statement that is being prepared for Saturday. So far, officials at the G-20 finance ministers’ meeting in the German spa town of Baden-Baden haven’t been able agree on whether to confirm their longstanding opposition to protectionism, the use of import taxes and rules by a country to shield its own companies.
Early drafts of their final joint statement have dropped the ban on protectionism but there was no agreement on what to replace it with, or exactly how to put their position into words, said officials who briefed reporters Friday only on condition of anonymity because the talks were ongoing.
Deputies assigned to work out the details ahead of time had to leave the matter for the ministers, who was to begin their meetings on Friday.
The meeting’s host, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, told reporters that “no one has mentioned protectionism” and that the statement was rather about “the right formulation regarding the openness of the world economy.”
The last such gathering, in July 2016 in Chengdu, China, issued a strong statement in favour of free trade, saying “we will resist all forms of protectionism.” That ringing statement was absent in early drafts put together in recent weeks ahead of this meeting; possible replacements include support for “fairness” and “inclusiveness.”
European countries and others that depend on exports, such as China, were said to be pushing for a stronger statement in favour of trade with fewer tariffs and other barriers in a rule-based system. The gathering on Friday and Saturday will help set the tone for international commerce and finance and will give Mnuchin a chance to clarify what the US position is.
The G-20 is an informal forum on economic cooperation made up of 19 countries with more than 80 per cent of the world economy, plus the European Union. The finance ministers’ meeting will pave the way for a summit of national leaders in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7-8. — AP