US Treasury's Bessent to skip South Africa G20 meeting, heading to Japan
Treasury chief also missed G20 meeting in February
Trump announced 30% tariff on South Africa, 25% on Japan
Bessent's decision to miss the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting marks the second time this year he has opted against attending a G20 meeting in South Africa, which is serving as the group's president this year.
A Treasury official confirmed that Michael Kaplan, acting undersecretary for international affairs, will represent the department at the July 17-18 meeting near Durban, South Africa instead of Bessent. The United States is due to head the G20 group, which it helped found in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, next year.
Bessent, a key figure in President Donald Trump's trade negotiations, will represent the United States at the U.S. national day at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, a Treasury spokesperson said. The national day will be marked on July 19.
It was not immediately clear if he would engage in bilateral meetings during the visit.
News of Bessent's trip comes a day after Trump sent a letter to Japan raising tariffs on Japanese imports to 25%, starting August 1. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishibi said he would continue negotiations with the U.S. to seek a mutually beneficial deal.
Bessent skipped South Africa's first G20 finance meeting in February to attend Trump's first cabinet meeting in Washington. Finance ministers from China, Japan, India and Canada also skipped the meeting in Cape Town focused on tackling global poverty, as did the European Union's top economic official.
Bessent's February decision came amid rising tensions between Washington and Pretoria as Trump threatened to cut off funding for South Africa, accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa's government of confiscating land from white South Africans. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also skipped a February G20 foreign ministers meeting in South Africa.
In May, Trump declined to say whether he would attend a G20 leaders summit in South Africa in November, after ambushing Ramaphosa at the White House with explosive false claims of white genocide and land seizures in Africa's largest economy.
On Monday, Trump sent Ramaphosa a letter informing him that imports from South Africa would be subject to a 30% tariff starting next month, unless the country agrees to reduce its trade barriers to U.S. goods – one of more than a dozen countries to get similar letters.
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