US urges G20 to cut trade imbalances, focus on China

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is urging some of his G20 counterparts to take a page from the Trump administration’s playbook of using tariffs and other measures to crack down on trade imbalances.

The administration of US President Donald Trump urged other G20 countries on Tuesday to do more to protect their domestic industries and job markets from Chinese imports, arguing that such distortions were “sucking” much-needed growth out of the global economy.

The two-day meeting of finance chiefs in Asheville, North Carolina, came amid a global bond market selloff on worries over growing debt levels and inflation pressures.

Bessent said he had already warned other trading partners last year that tougher US tariffs would lead to an influx of Chinese goods diverted to their markets.

“And unfortunately, I was right. They have – and the rest of the world probably needs to take a hard look at what they should be doing to protect their citizens’ jobs,” he told the meeting.

“We’re seeing a lot of non-market economies with these big imbalances that are sucking growth from the rest of the world,” Bessent told reporters.

China’s massive export push has pressured economies across the globe, especially as the US has imposed high tariffs on Chinese goods and outright bans on some products, such as Chinese vehicles.

With chronically weak domestic demand, China has doubled down on exports of electric vehicles, semiconductors and other goods. Its total exports rose 23.9 percent in July year-on-year, prompting growing calls in Europe for tougher curbs on Chinese imports.