G20 finance chiefs meet in Durban under tariff cloud
A G20 delegate, who asked not to be named, said Bessent's absence was not ideal but the US was engaging in discussions on trade, the global economy and climate language.
Finance ministers from India, France and Russia are also set to miss the Durban meeting.
Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said representation was what mattered most.
'What matters is, is there somebody with a mandate sitting behind the flag, and are all countries represented with somebody sitting behind the flag?' Kganyago told Reuters.
US officials have said little publicly about their plans for the presidency next year, but one source familiar with the plans said Washington would reduce the number of non-financial working groups and streamline the summit schedule.
Brad Setser, a former US official at the Council on Foreign Relations, said he expected it to be 'kind of a scaled-back G20 with less expectation of substantive outcomes'.
Trump's tariff policies have torn up the global trade rule book. With baseline levies of 10% on all US imports and targeted rates as high as 50% on steel and aluminium, 25% on autos and potential levies on pharmaceuticals, extra tariffs on more than 20 countries are slated to take effect on August 1.
His threat to impose further 10% tariffs on Brics nations, eight of which are G20 members, has raised fears of fragmentation within global forums.
German finance ministry sources said on Tuesday the Durban meeting would seek to deepen global relationships in 'turbulent times'.
National Treasury director-general Duncan Pieterse said the group nonetheless hoped to issue the first communique under the South African G20 presidency by the end of the meetings.
The G20 was last able to take a mutually agreed stance to issue a communique in July 2024, agreeing on the need to resist protectionism but making no mention of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Reuters
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