Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says 19 of the G20 members have agreed to confront what he called a flood of “cheap exports” that distort global trade and fuel economic imbalances but confirmed that China refused to join the consensus.
Speaking after a two‑day meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers, Bessent said he urged counterparts to consider the Trump administration’s approach of using tariffs and targeted trade measures to counter persistent imbalances. He argued that some economies rely on non‑market practices to push out artificially low‑priced goods.
“We believe that non‑market-based economies pushing out a never-ending stream of cheap exports is not sustainable,” he said, adding that every G20 member except China agreed with the sentiment. He described China as “the country with the world’s largest and unsustainable current account surplus”, making it the lone dissenter.
The Trump administration has long accused China of fueling global trade distortions, echoing concerns raised by many economists. Bessent also previewed the upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping, signalling that trade tensions will be front and centre.
He told reporters he had warned other nations at the start of Trump’s second term that the new US “tariff wall” would divert Chinese goods into their markets, increasing pressure on global trading partners.
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