Trade tensions may escalate at G20 over US trade tariffs

World
Europe

The recent global trade tension caused by the US-proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum may escalate at the next week’s Group of 20 finance ministers meeting.

The US heads to the G20 meeting looking for partners in confronting China over its trade practices, a senior Treasury Department official told reporters on condition of anonymity on Thursday.

Talks in Buenos Aires between the world's largest advanced and emerging economies will occur amid fresh tensions over President Donald Trump's increasingly confrontational trade policies.

The White House last week announced a raft of tariffs and is poised to unveil more soon.

A senior Trump trade adviser warned Thursday the president would soon consider additional tariffs on Chinese products.

The US plans to slap a 25-percent tariff on imported steel and a 10-percent tariff on imported aluminum on the grounds of national security, leading to growing tension with significant trade partners, such as European Union.

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on Thursday urged global policymakers to guard against trade protectionism.

"Policymakers need to work constructively together to reduce trade barriers and resolve trade disagreements without resort to exceptional measures," Lagarde said in a blog post.

"They should ensure that the recently announced US import tariffs do not lead to a wider escalation of protectionist measures," she said, warning that trade wars will hurt global growth and they are also "unwinnable."

Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency