US Treasury Secretary to Host G20 Meeting Focused on Growth, Imbalances, and Iran Sanctions

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to host finance leaders from the Group of 20 major economies in Asheville, North Carolina. The meeting's agenda prioritizes boosting economic growth, addressing global imbalances, and intensifying pressure on Iran by cutting off its economic lifelines.

A senior U.S. Treasury official stated that the Trump administration is focused on tackling global trade imbalances to benefit American workers and create a level playing field for U.S. companies. The discussions will emphasize competition based on productivity, innovation, and investment, rather than policies that flood global markets with excess production.

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And so we're really focusing on this head on in our G20 discussions to ensure that our economies compete on productivity, innovation, and investment, and not on just sort of policies that push excess production and excess capacity into global markets.

The official noted that other G20 economies have experienced significant "dumping" of goods as the U.S. has tightened its trade barriers. While China was not explicitly named, the comments echoed the administration's frequent criticisms of China's export-oriented economic model.

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tremendous amounts of dumping on their shores

Discussions will also cover support for resilient supply chains in critical sectors like energy and for private-sector innovators. Business leaders will be included to address barriers to investment, innovation, productivity, and regulatory reforms.

Regarding concerns about rising U.S. debt and bond yields, the Treasury official expressed confidence that yields would decrease as inflation cools. The Treasury is actively working to lower longer-maturity bond yields, evidenced by increased buyback sizes for 10- to 30-year Treasuries. Furthermore, Bessent will deliver a strong message to G20 officials, emphasizing that adherence to U.S. sanctions against Iran is crucial for continued participation in the dollar-based financial system.

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I expect that this will come up in every single bilateral meeting that the secretary is hosting with our G20 counterparties over the coming days. This is a critical aspect right now of our economic campaign against Iran, and so we want to ensure that there's consistency across all of the G20 members.