ASHEVILLE – Finance leaders from the Group of 20 major economies opened talks yesterday at a US-hosted gathering as the Trump administration seeks consensus to lift global growth while ramping up economic pressure on Iran.
The gathering of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors began yesterday in the Blue Ridge Mountains city of Asheville, North Carolina.
But looming over the meetings are fallout from the US-Israeli war on Iran, a tightening of US trade barriers, and questions about whether the group can still work together to address key economic challenges.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent skipped last year’s meeting, led by South Africa, which the US has excluded from the group. Washington holds the rotating presidency this year.
Instead, US officials invited Poland to the table, although it is not a permanent G20 member.
Brazil’s finance minister is shunning the gathering amid tensions with the Trump administration.
A Russian representative is participating too. A European official speaking on condition of anonymity expressed disapproval that Moscow, at war with Ukraine since its 2022 invasion, was not excluded.
Besides promoting economic growth, US priorities this year include dealing with “global imbalances” and sovereign debt challenges, a senior US Treasury official told reporters ahead of talks.
G20 discussions will seek to ensure economies avoid policies that push excess production and capacity into global markets, the official added.
The official noted that some G20 partners have seen dumping on their shores while Trump raised US trade barriers, echoing criticism of China’s excess industrial capacity, which critics say drives down prices and causes unfair competition.
“Those are difficult conversations to have,” Josh Lipsky of the Atlantic Council told AFP, referring to the issue of imbalances.
He added that an ongoing US-Canada trade war weighs on unity among the Group of Seven advanced economies as countries broach tough topics in the wider grouping.
G7 finance ministers are also expected to meet on the margins of the Asheville talks.
But certain reporters from major US newsrooms, including the New York Times and Bloomberg News, were not granted credentials to cover the gathering.
Bloomberg News said it did not receive accreditation, while the Times said its economic policy reporter was excluded. Another Times reporter, covering Europe, was allowed access.
A Times spokesperson said this was “not just another disturbing effort by the administration to undermine independent journalism, but a blatant attempt to evade public scrutiny.”
A Treasury spokesperson said it plans to welcome nearly 300 media representatives from around a dozen countries, including a New York Times reporter and others from NPR and the Washington Post.
“Members of the media will have a high level of access to policymakers throughout the event, and with that access comes a responsibility to report factual information consistent with established journalistic standards,” the Treasury official added.
– Nampa/AFP
