Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Tuesday that 19 members of the G20 supported measures to curb streams of inexpensive exports driving global economic imbalances, noting that China was the single nation to object.
Speaking at the conclusion of a two-day conference with central bankers and finance ministers focused on economic growth, Bessent urged allies to adopt policies similar to those of the Trump administration, such as tariffs, to address trade imbalances.
"We believe that non-market-based economies pushing out a never-ending stream of cheap exports is not sustainable," Bessent told reporters, describing the broader consensus among the delegates.
"It is clear that the country with the world’s largest and unsustainable current account surplus, the People’s Republic of China, was the dissenter," Bessent said.
Echoing the views of numerous economists, the Trump administration attributes global economic imbalances to China, whose massive trade surplus contrasts with the U.S. deficit. At a closing press conference on Tuesday, Bessent previewed an upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. He recalled advising foreign leaders at the start of Trump’s second term that a new U.S. "tariff wall" would cause Chinese products to flood alternative foreign markets.
"And unfortunately, I was right," Bessent said. "The rest of the world probably needs to take a hard look at what they should be doing to protect their citizens’ jobs, their manufacturing base, so that everything they do doesn’t get offshored."
Artificial intelligence policy will also feature in the upcoming dialogue between Trump and Xi later this month, according to Bessent, who emphasized the need for regulatory guardrails to stop "non-state actors" from building independent models. The Treasury secretary revealed he directly criticized tech leadership, stating that AI companies, "whether it is the builders of the data centers, whether it is the labs themselves, have done a horrendous job, horrendous job of explaining themselves to the American people."
He added: "They’re going to have to take some of the blame, and they are going to have to convince the American people that all the benefits will not accrue to a small group."
Following the press conference, Trump wrote on social media that "very productive and positive conversations were had" during the G20 sessions, adding, "Other Countries should follow our lead."
The Trump administration's tariff strategies have drawn criticism from politicians and economists who argue they penalize allies and inflate costs for American shoppers. Research from the Tax Foundation, an independent think tank, showed that tariffs introduced throughout 2025 increased retail prices for imported consumer items by approximately 7% compared to pre-tariff trends.
Following a February ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that broad emergency-power tariffs were unconstitutional, the administration has been reshaping its trade policy, considering a further 7.5% tariff on imports from China after investigating forced-labor regulations and excess industrial output.
During meetings with Chinese officials, Bessent noted shared ground regarding Iran, explicitly agreeing that Iran "cannot have a nuclear weapon" and advocating for uninterrupted commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Bessent previously identified excessive regulation alongside China's trade surplus—which reached a record $1.2 trillion in 2025—as major obstacles to international growth. As global debt climbed to $353 trillion and U.S. public debt hit $40 trillion in August, anxiety grew over a sell-off in U.S. government bonds. However, Bessent remarked to journalists, "I don’t think we’re in any kind of dire situation" regarding the bond market.
Diplomatic friction was also evident in the attendance of Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. Although Siluanov held a side meeting with Bessent on Monday, he was left out of the traditional G20 "family photo."
Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne noted that Russia’s presence "created a lot of discomfort around the table, not only from Canada, but from colleagues around the table." He added, "We have made sure our discomfort is being heard by colleagues with respect to who is in attendance at the meeting." Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commissioner for the Economy, echoed that stance Tuesday, asserting that relations with Russia should not be normalized.
Bessent defended engaging Siluanov, asking, "if the sides don’t talk, if we are not engaged, then how can it be solved?"
"I know that some Europeans had a sour taste" regarding the invitation, Bessent said, adding, "If both fighters go in a corner, then there will never be a resolution to this horrible conflict."
