Trump’s Tariffs Strain G20 Talks in Milwaukee as Jamieson Greer Defends U.S. Approach

Milwaukee Tariff Standoff

G20 trade ministers opened two days of talks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with the meetings strained by President Donald Trump's tariffs as Washington targets partners over forced labor and industrial overcapacity.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer defended Washington's approach at a Tuesday roundtable in Milwaukee, saying the administration "is not anti-trade" and that countries face similar challenges with global overcapacity and "non-market policies."

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Analysts told AFP that "Don't expect any breakthroughs in Milwaukee," pointing to Trump's preference for bilateral negotiations rather than multilateral mechanisms.

The United States holds the rotating presidency of the G20, which comprises 19 nations plus the EU and the African Union, and the gathering includes officials from China, India, Russia, Japan, Germany and France.

SourcesFrance 24Kuwait Times

Forced Labor and Overcapacity

Washington targeted partners over forced labor and overcapacity, and the Supreme Court struck down Trump's country-specific tariffs in February while the sectoral duties remained in place. The U.S. administration imposed new tariffs on 60 economies, including China, India and the EU, citing what it called insufficient action against forced labor.

Washington also investigated 16 partners over excess industrial capacity, and critics said overcapacity floods markets and unfairly pushes down prices. Wendy Cutler, now at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said some countries would "mince no words" about the investigations, feeling "they are being unfairly targeted."

CBC

SourcesTRT WorldKuwait Times

Tariff Caps and Trade Deals

Jamieson Greer said the Trump administration would take into consideration tariff caps negotiated in trade deals as it weighs potential new duties in an investigation on excess industrial capacity. Greer told reporters, "we value those deals, and we will certainly take them into account" when looking at outcomes of the report, and he said those deals mitigate impacts of excess capacity as they are implemented.

The Edge Malaysia reported that trade deals struck with the Trump administration by the EU, Japan and South Korea capped US tariffs on their goods at 15%, while largely eliminating tariffs on US industrial goods. Maninder Sidhu stressed Ottawa's support for "open, predictable and rules-based trade" and said he planned to talk to partners to "reinforce a multilateral trading system" as Canada sought to diversify away from reliance on the United States.

SourcesThe Edge MalaysiaCBC