G20 leaders: Rising trade and geopolitical tension pose major risk to global economic growth

Anca Alexe 23/07/2018 | 07:38

The G20 group of finance ministers have argued during a summit in Argentina that developing trade tensions could undermine the global economy, the BBC reports.

After several new sets of tariffs the US and China slapped on each other, the US ramped up tensions last Friday by saying it was ready to introduce tariffs on all Chinese imports to the US, worth about USD 500 billion.

The G20 ministers have released a joint statement saying that short and medium term growth is increasingly at risk, including due to “financial vulnerabilities, heightened trade and geopolitical tensions.”

“International trade and investment are important engines of growth,” the statement says.

The French finance minister says that the EU should not negotiate “with a gun to its head”. He also said that the current US trade policy of imposing unilateral tariffs was based on “the law of the jungle”.