G20 divided over excess capacity

The Express Tribune reported that a US trade office statement issued on Friday showed most G20 members turned down Washington's call to rein in surplus industrial output and non-market policies, exposing a rift within the bloc. The text did not name the dissenters, though it said a small group firmly opposed a path toward cooperative action. Washington, which chairs the G20 this year, described the outcome as a severe letdown.

The trade meeting in Milwaukee had already shown that only Mexico and Argentina signed a US-led statement backing efforts to remove goods made with forced labour from supply chains. That rebuff followed Washington's levies, set at either 10% or 12.5%, on exports from 59 nations and the European Union, based on claims that those partners weaken forced labour bans. A second Section 301 probe covering 16 trading partners with signs of excess capacity is widely expected to produce new duties in the months ahead.

A separate diesel dispute also drew attention. After pressure from President Trump, who had warned of halting US diesel exports, the Group of Seven agreed on Friday to free up around 100 million barrels from emergency diesel stocks. The move is meant to push down record-high US diesel prices ahead of November's mid-term vote. Meanwhile, G20 trade ministers condemned the weaponisation of food trade, describing it as a humanitarian and economic danger.