Donald Trump’s free trade as G20 nations bow to US pressure

Finance Ministers and central bank Governors from the G-20 group of leading economies, including the US, China, Mexico, Germany and India, held two days of tough talking in the German town of Baden-Baden. The formal statement issued after the meeting on Saturday contained only a bland reference to “working to strengthen the contribution of trade to our economies”, CNN reported. 

Conspicuous by its absence was the phrase “we will resist all forms of protectionism” that was contained in the communiqué from the last meeting of the group in China in July 2016. It also did not contain a pledge to finance efforts to combat climate change, Efe news said. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, downplayed the content of the statement. 

“This is my first G20, so what was in the past communiqué is not necessarily relevant from my standpoint,” Mnuchin said. In a press conference afterward, he described the meeting as extremely productive and stressed that Trump’s administration believed in free trade. 

However, he added that it was good for the US as long as it was balanced. He said the US, which since Trump took office has withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and called for the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) to be renegotiated, was looking to enter into trade deals that are a “win-win” situation for the parties involved. 

The Finance Minister of Germany, Wolfgang Schauble, said for his part the negotiations were difficult but that a door had been left open for future talks. He added the final communiqué contained language that was not concrete but which reflected the economies’ shared commitment to fair trade, as demanded by the US, and rejection of currency manipulation.