G20 trade talks yield little progress while tensions simmer

MILWAUKEE (AP) — G20 trade ministers failed to reach an agreement Thursday to curb the flooding of markets with overproduced, underpriced goods, a practice the Trump administration says undercuts American manufacturers. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, emerging from the gathering, said talks were constructive despite not reaching consensus on the issue, which is known as “excess capacity.” “Nearly all countries agreed that this is an issue that required action. And nearly all countries agreed that our current system of trade remedies and responses is inadequate to solve this problem,” Greer said.

The White House has accused trading partners of producing a gamut of goods in quantities surpassing demand, claiming it sends prices downward and unfairly skews competition. The Trump administration views China as the leading offender, but has opened investigations into countries from Norway to Bangladesh. Besides Chinese-made steel, the administration has claimed industries including autos, batteries, paper and semiconductors have been plagued by overproduction, causing the U.S.

The gathering in Milwaukee of representatives from the G20, which includes both the biggest industrialized countries and some emerging markets, bore no signs of a breakthrough on the biggest trade dispute of the moment, between the U.S. Animosity between the two countries have been growing since the summer, when President Donald Trump slapped 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, leading Canada to promptly counterpunch with tariffs of its own. It further devolved this week, with Trump banning nearly $1 billion worth of Canadian imports, including alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles.

“The reality is there are a handful of outstanding issues that are quite difficult to resolve,” Greer said Thursday. Canada is a seemingly unlikely target of Trump’s trade war. No country buys more from the United States than its northern neighbor, an ally long considered so close that the countries share an unprotected border.

Canadian trade minister Maninder Sidhu, pleaded for cooperation, saying: “You’re facing some of the same challenges that we’re facing. Let’s help each other and let’s work through something.” In other discussions at the meeting, trade leaders also failed to reach a deal on forced labor, an issue the… to lose ground to competitors.The gathering in Milwaukee of representatives from the G20, which includes both the biggest industrialized countries and some emerging markets, bore no signs of a breakthrough on the biggest trade dispute of the moment, between the U.S.

and Canada.Animosity between the two countries have been growing since the summer, when President Donald Trump slapped 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, leading Canada to promptly counterpunch with tariffs of its own.