G20 Finance Ministers' Statement Drops Anti-Protectionist Language, Apparently at US Request
The March 18 joint communique (here) of Group of 20 international finance ministers omitted previous language that called on G20 nations to oppose protectionism, reportedly at the urging of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin during the ministers’ meeting in Baden-Baden, Germany, last week. The ministers also added to the communique that member nations are “working to strengthen the contribution of trade to our economies.” Communiques from the past three G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings all contained the following statement: “We will resist all forms of protectionism.” While the March 18 communique deleted this, that statement did carry over language from the preceding sentence committing to refrain from competitive currency devaluations and from targeting exchange rates for competitive purposes.
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Bloomberg (here) and The Wall Street Journal (here) were among the outlets that reported Mnuchin blocked the adoption of the language on protectionism. Summing up the meeting, German Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble in a statement noted that agreements reached in Baden-Baden “do not per se take us a great deal further,” but he cast the meeting as an overall success, noting strengthening cooperation between industrialized and emerging economies, according to a G20 press release (here). Treasury didn't comment.
President Donald Trump continued his administration's theme of asserting the role of nations' sovereignty in the international trade framework during a March 17 joint press conference (here) alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington. "Millions of hardworking U.S. citizens have been left behind by international commerce, and together, we can shape a future where all of our citizens have a path to financial security," Trump said. "The United States will respect historic institutions, and we will also recognize the right of free people to manage their own destiny." Responding to a reporter's pointed question, Trump said he is not an isolationist, but rather a free and fair trader. Merkel agreed that "trade has to be rendered fairer, there has to be a win-win situation." Merkel also said she hopes that the U.S. will restart Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations with the EU, and made the case that the agreement would fall in the category of a bilateral deal, which the Trump administration favors over multilaterals.