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G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Begin Saturday in Buenos Aires in a Context of Tight Trade Tensions Between the United States and the Rest of the World
On Friday, US President Donald Trump said it was ready to impose punitive taxes on all Chinese imports, which amounted to 500 billion dollars in 2017.
Until then, American protectionism against Chinese products was focused on steel and aluminum, to protest against subsidies and export credits granted by Beijing.
"I do not do it for political purposes, I do it to do what is good for our country," he said, accusing China to "scam" the US for a long time, with "unfair" practices and "theft of intellectual property."
To trade disputes, are added monetary tensions.
"China, the European Union and the others manipulate their currencies by lowering their interest rates while the United States increases their rates with a dollar becoming stronger, day after day, which degrades our competitiveness, "the US president again criticized, criticizing also the rise of interest rates of the Fed.
– American emissary –
Beijing accuses Washington of wanting to provoke "the worst commercial war of the economic history" and reacted by imposing new taxes on American products
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, dispatched to Argentina on Saturday and Sunday, "will respond to concerns over trade policy," a senior Treasury official said.
Bilateral talks are planned between Mnuchin and his French, German, Japanese, Canadian, South Korean, Italian and Mexican peers.
This week the International Monetary Fund (IMF) maintained its forecast of global growth to 3.9% for 2018 and 2019 but its CEO, Christine Lagarde, pointed out that it was probably a ceiling.
And Maurice Obstfeld, Chief Economist of the Fund, has also estimated that trade tensions were "the greatest short-term threat to world growth."
Especially since the protectionism of the White House affects not only Beijing but also its main partners such as the European Union, Canada or Mexico.
– Europe preoccupied –
In an attempt to appease relations with the United States, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker travels to Washington on Wednesday, where he will meet with the President
According to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe is "ready" to respond if the United States raises taxes on imports of European vehicles, a major concern for manufacturers in the United States. However, it stated that "retaliation for US tariffs" would be "the worst solution."
Other EU-US tension, Washington's request to economically isolate Iran was rejected by Europeans who adopted a legal instrument to protect European companies in the country, which will come into effect on August 6, the date of the first installment of US sanctions.
Under the principle of extraterritoriality of the law American, Washington intends to penalize companies and individuals who trade with Iran. Many large European companies, such as the oil group Total, have decided to withdraw from Iran if they are not exempt from US sanctions.
For the moment, Washington has refused to exempt European companies after denouncing the nuclear deal with Iran
The G20 Finance will address this weekend the threats to global growth and the risks of crisis in emerging countries.
The work of the ministers of Finance and central bank governors were expected to start Saturday at 14H30 (17H30 GMT) and continue Sunday. It is the third ministerial meeting of the year after that of March, in Buenos Aires, and April in Washington.
A final communique must be diffused Sunday at the end of the day.
November 30 and December 1st, it is the heads of state and government of the G20 countries who will travel to Buenos Aires to discuss the future of the global economy.
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