US ‘severely disappointed’ in lack of G20 consensus on overproduction
The US Trade Representative's office said a "handful" of G20 trade ministers rejected US calls to curb excess industrial capacity and "non-market" policies at a trade meeting in Milwaukee. Only Mexico and Argentina signed a US-led statement calling for more work and cooperation to eliminate goods produced with forced labour from supply chains. The US G20 chair's statement said the draft ministerial statement was supported by all but a handful of members, while ministers agreed that trade in food and agricultural products should not be used as a tool for economic or political coercion.
Why it matters: The split over excess capacity and forced-labour measures shows how trade and industrial policy disputes are constraining consensus among major economies.