{
  "id": 5122782,
  "title": "At G20, Treasury Secretary Bessent said all members align on cheap exports, except for one",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/at-g20-treasury-secretary-bessent-said-all-members-align-on-cheap",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-02T15:59:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fast Company",
    "slug": "fast-company",
    "url": "https://www.fastcompany.com/91600683/g20-treasury-secretary-bessent-said-members-align-cheap-exports-except-one"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "At the conclusion of a G20 finance ministers' two-day meeting, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that 19 out of the 20 members agreed to tackle the issue of \"cheap exports\" causing global economic imbalances, while China refused to comply. During the gathering, Bessent advocated for growth, urging G20 counterparts to learn from the Trump administration's approach of sanctioning trade imbalances. Bessent highlighted the unsustainable current account surplus of China, the world's largest, as the root cause of the dissent. The Trump administration has frequently accused China of causing trade imbalances, resulting in a significant trade surplus for China and a deficit for the United States. Bessent pointed out that the U.S. should consider protective measures for its citizens' jobs and manufacturing sectors amidst the ongoing offshoring of goods. The G20 leaders also discussed artificial intelligence policy, emphasizing the necessity of guardrails to prevent \"non-state actors\" from developing AI independently. Treasury Secretary Bessent criticized AI companies for failing to communicate their objectives effectively to the American public. He emphasized that these companies should shoulder some blame for the lack of transparency and must convince the public of the benefits shared by all. President Donald Trump expressed satisfaction with the G20 meetings, stating that \"very productive and positive conversations were had\" and that other nations should emulate the U.S. approach. However, critics have argued that the Trump administration's tariff policies have increased consumer costs and targeted allies. The Tax Foundation discovered that the Trump administration's tariffs raised the retail price of imported consumer goods by approximately 7% compared to pre-tariff trends. In February, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the broad-based global tariffs imposed by Trump under an emergency powers law were unconstitutional. The administration is now planning to impose an additional 7.5% tariff on Chinese imports in response to alleged excess industrial capacity and forced labor regulations.",
  "summary": "Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that 19 of the members of the G20 had agreed to address streams of “cheap exports” that cause global economic imbalances, but said China had dissented. Bessent made his comments at the end of a two-day meeting with finance ministers and central bankers where he tried to focus on growth, telling reporters he had urged some of his G20 counterparts to…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Financial Post",
        "title": "Scott Bessent’s bond intervention puts U.S. Treasury on collision course with Fed",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/scott-bessents-bond-intervention-puts-u-s-treasury-on-collision",
        "published": "2026-08-26T13:23:54.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Fortune",
        "title": "Scott Bessent says 19 of the G20 finance ministers agreed to address ‘cheap imports’ but ‘China was the dissenter’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/scott-bessent-says-19-of-the-g20-finance-ministers-agreed-to-address",
        "published": "2026-09-02T13:08:21.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}