The G20 is set to meet in South Africa, all because of the rational decision made by President Donald Trump that is now affecting global economies. Discussions at large gatherings of international leaders frequently extend well beyond elegant meals and pictures. These meetings are where crucial decisions are made that might affect people’s jobs, the price of common items, and how nations cooperate in difficult times. The world’s leading central bankers and finance ministers have convened once more this week, this time in South Africa.
All roads lead to South Africa for a G20 meeting regarding Trump’s tariff threats
G20 finance chiefs will meet in South Africa on Thursday under the shadow of President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and questions over their ability to tackle global challenges together. The club, which came to the fore as a forum for international cooperation to combat the global financial crisis, has for years been hobbled by disputes among key players exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine and Western sanctions on Moscow.
Host South Africa, under its presidency motto “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability,” has aimed to promote an African agenda, with topics including the high cost of capital and funding for climate change action. The G20 aims to coordinate policies, but its agreements are non-binding. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will not attend the two-day meeting of finance ministers.
Central bankers and leaders in finance struggle with debt and expansion
Many serious subjects will be covered at the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in South Africa. In addition to potential additional tariffs, leaders need to discuss food security, growing debt in emerging nations, and ways to help economies that are still struggling from the pandemic and global inflation shocks. This will open their eyes to new strategies on how to ease everything right now and into the future.
The summit’s host African nations see it as an opportunity to promote more equitable trade regulations that safeguard their sectors and support economic expansion. Many African leaders contend that when major powers initiate trade disputes, their nations frequently suffer the most. They may find it more difficult to export their products overseas as a result of new tariffs, which would destroy jobs and restrict investment.
Poor G20 representation in a time where attendance is urgently needed
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will not attend the two-day meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in the coastal city of Durban, marking his second absence from a G20 event in South Africa this year. Bessent also skipped February’s Cape Town gathering, where several officials from China, Japan and Canada were also absent, even though Washington is due to assume the G20 rotating presidency at the end of the year.
Michael Kaplan, U.S. acting undersecretary for international affairs, will represent Washington at the meetings. Finance ministers from India, France and Russia are also set to miss the Durban meeting. South Africa’s central bank governor, Lesetja Kganyago, said that representation was what mattered most. Kganyago told Reuters,
“What matters is, is there somebody with a mandate sitting behind the flag and are all countries represented with somebody sitting behind the flag?”
Trump’s tariff policies have torn up the global trade rulebook. With baseline levies of 10% on all U.S. imports and targeted rates as high as 50% on steel and aluminium, 25% on autos and potential levies on pharmaceuticals, extra tariffs on more than 20 countries are slated to take effect on August 1. His threat to impose further 10% tariffs on BRICS nations—of which eight are G20 members—has raised fears of fragmentation within global forums. Hopefully, the meeting will bring in new ideas and ways to survive the “storm,” especially if Trump keeps his head hard.
GCN.com/Reuters.