US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on September 2 that 19 G20 members agreed to combat cheap export flows that cause imbalances in the world economy. Bessent was speaking at the end of a two-day meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors, during which he sought to focus discussions on economic growth. The US official said he encouraged some of his counterparts to follow the example of the Trump administration, using tariffs and other measures to combat trade imbalances.
China was the only G20 country to disagree with this position. Bessent stated that "it is not sustainable for economies that do not operate according to market rules to place an endless flow of cheap exports abroad," adding that the country with the world's largest and unsustainable current account surplus is the People's Republic of China. The Trump administration has blamed China for global trade imbalances, pointing to China's high trade surplus of $1.2 trillion in 2025, in contrast to the United States' deficit.
Bessent revealed that Trump and Xi will discuss artificial intelligence regulation when they meet this month, advocating for more safeguards to prevent "non-state actors" from developing their own AI models. The secretary also stated that he had warned other countries, at the start of Trump's second term, that the new US "tariff wall" would cause Chinese products to be diverted to other markets, which has since been confirmed.
Trump administration's tariff policies have been criticized by economists for increasing costs for American consumers. According to the Tax Foundation, tariffs imposed in 2025 increased retail prices of imported consumer goods by approximately 7%. Global debt reached a record high of $353 trillion, while US debt reached a record of $40 trillion in August.
