China says US tariffs hindered G20 agreements — The Hindu

China said that US tariffs and differences among G20 participants prevented positions on excess production capacity and forced labor from being coordinated at a meeting of trade ministers in Milwaukee, United States. This was reported by The Hindu.

Negotiations without a document

G20 trade ministers held two days of talks in Milwaukee but failed to reach agreement on countering excess production capacity and forced labor. These issues are often raised in the context of China.

According to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, a draft ministerial statement on excess capacity was supported by everyone except several participants. Among other things, the document called on all countries to eliminate structural excess production capacity in their economies. Such capacity is considered a factor in unfair price reductions.

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Beijing’s position

China’s Ministry of Commerce said that the issues of excess capacity and forced labor had been controversial from the outset. The ministry noted that G20 members face tariffs related to forced labor and also often become targets of investigations into excess production capacity.

According to the Chinese side’s assessment, many G20 participants had differing views on the US presidency’s decision to put these topics up for discussion, seek a joint statement, and create cooperation mechanisms. Beijing said that due to disagreements among the majority of participants, the meeting did not conclude with the adoption of a final document on these issues.

China also noted that the chair’s statement after the talks mentioned a separate statement by the United States and two other G20 countries on forced labor, made outside the G20 format. It was not specified which countries opposed the document. The G20 leaders’ summit is scheduled for mid-December at a golf resort in Miami owned by US President Donald Trump.