G20 trade ministers split in Milwaukee over US drive on excess industrial capacity

MILWAUKEE — G20 trade ministers ended two days of talks in Milwaukee divided on Thursday after a “handful” of members rejected a US-led push to curb excess industrial capacity and “non-market” policies, the US Trade Representative’s office said on Friday (https://wixx.com/2026/10/02/handful-of-g20-countries-reject-us-stance-on-excess-industrial-capacity/).

The draft ministerial statement “was supported by all but a handful of members”, USTR Jamieson Greer said, adding that the US G20 presidency was “severely disappointed” by the refusal. The objecting countries were not named, but China had objected to similar language denouncing forced labour and non-market policies at a finance leaders’ meeting a month ago in Asheville, North Carolina (https://www.reuters.com/world/china/g20-trade-chiefs-denounce-food-trade-coercion-not-excess-factory-capacity-2026-10-01/).

Only Mexico and Argentina signed a separate US-led statement calling for cooperation to eliminate goods made with forced labour from supply chains (https://www.malaymail.com/news/money/2026/10/03/g20-splits-over-industrial-overcapacity-an-issue-often-aimed-at-china/237472).

The rejections follow Washington’s tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on goods from 59 countries and the European Union over allegations of weak forced-labour enforcement; USTR is also running a second Section 301 tariff investigation into 16 trading partners showing signs of excess industrial capacity.

Ministers did agree to condemn the weaponisation of food trade — that trade in food or agricultural inputs should not be used as a tool of economic or political coercion.

Greer told a Thursday news conference: “Nearly all countries agree that this is an issue that requires action.” The US also opened a longer-term discussion on reforming the WTO’s most-favoured-nation tariff system, without seeking a joint statement.