U.S. ‘severely disappointed’ in lack of G20 consensus on overproduction

Washington – The U.S. Group of 20 presidency said Friday it was “severely disappointed” that some members rejected a statement this week for action against excess industrial capacity, a criticism commonly aimed at China.

The United States holds the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 major economies this year, a grouping that also includes China, India, France, Germany and Japan.

But trade ministers failed to reach agreements on countering overcapacity and forced labor after two days of talks in Milwaukee.

A draft ministerial statement against excess capacity, seen as driving costs down unfairly, “was supported by all but a handful of members,” said top U.S. trade official Jamieson Greer.

This had called on all countries to move to eliminate structural excess capacity in their economies, among other actions.

“The U.S. G20 Presidency was severely disappointed by their refusal to agree to the statement,” Greer, the chair of the G20 trade ministerial meeting, said in a statement released Friday.

The statement did not specify which countries disagreed.

In September, China objected to wording in a finance ministers’ statement calling for members to “eliminate nonmarket policies.”

Asked about the topic on the sidelines of the G20 talks, China’s international trade representative Li Chenggang would only say that parties expressed their respective opinions.

G20 members similarly did not reach a common position on eliminating forced labor from supply chains. Only Mexico and Argentina joined the United States to issue a statement.

Earlier this year, Washington cited concerns over forced labor to slap sweeping tariffs on dozens of economies, including G20 members.

But G20 trade ministers “agreed that trade in food and agricultural products should not be used as a tool for economic or political coercion,” Greer’s statement said.