G20 finance chiefs meeting in Germany on Saturday have failed to renew a pledge to bolster free trade.
ADVERTISEMENTG20 finance chiefs meeting in Germany on Saturday have failed to renew a pledge to bolster free trade. Holding their annual talks in the rain sodden spa town of Baden Baden, the world’s biggest economies dropped a long-standing anti-protectionist commitment after opposition from the US.delegation – led by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.
Despite German efforts to find a compromise , Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said leaders had reached an impasse.
‘‘Of course we have different points of view. By the way some colleagues are new (here). But we’ve had goodwill and we have the experience and knowhow inside the international organisations to move on even in difficult times,’‘ Schauble said.
In another sign of the shift in approach being taken by the new administration in Washington, leaders in Baden Baden also failed to reach a commitment on climate change at the end of the meeting.