Latest news with #MichaelKaplan
Reuters
18-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
G20 finance chiefs back central bank independence in first communique since October
DURBAN, July 18 (Reuters) - Finance chiefs from the Group of 20 countries stressed the importance of central bank independence and pledged to boost cooperation in a communique they issued on Friday after a two-day meeting in South Africa. In their first communique since last October, a month before President Donald Trump's election victory and subsequent tariff war, the ministers and central bankers highlighted the uncertainty in the global economy caused by conflicts, trade tensions and frequent extreme weather events. The issue of central bank independence hung heavily over the meeting in South Africa's coastal city of Durban following Trump's repeated berating of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates, attacks that have roiled global financial markets. The communique was reached in the absence of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent from the two-day meeting, though Washington was represented by Michael Kaplan, acting under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs. Bessent also skipped the previous G20 finance chiefs' gathering in Cape Town in February, even though Washington is due to assume the G20's rotating presidency in December. "Central banks are strongly committed to ensuring price stability, consistent with their respective mandates, and will continue to adjust their policies in a data-dependent manner. Central bank independence is crucial to achieving this goal," the communique said. South Africa's deputy finance minister David Masondo told reporters that the meeting outcomes contained in the communique were "consented to by all members" and centred on "strategic macroeconomic issues". The United States has yet to issue any statement on the outcome. The communique also recognised "the importance of the World Trade Organisation to advance trade issues", while adding the body needed reform. The agreement is seen as an achievement even though communiques issued by the G20, which emerged as a forum for cooperation to combat the 2008 global financial crisis, are non-binding. "The biggest news is that they issued a communique instead of just a chair's statement," said Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council. "This is a positive sign going into the year of the U.S. presidency. It shows some kind of momentum." While it referred to "extreme weather events and natural disasters" as economic challenges, the communique did not explicitly address climate change. The word "tariff" was notable by its absence from the document, which instead referred to "trade tensions". Trump's tariff policies have torn up the global trade rule book and clouded the economic outlook almost everywhere. With baseline levies of 10% on all U.S. 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. German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said earlier on Friday that he made clear to his counterparts from the Group of Seven major economies that the global trade conflict must be ended quickly. The G7 discussions were on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Durban. The G20 communique also contained no mentions of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a divisive point for the group, nor the conflicts involving Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Instead, it mentioned "ongoing wars and conflicts" without elaborating. At just over 2,000 words, the communique was less than half the around 5,000 words in the October 2024 document. South Africa, under its presidency's motto "Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability", has aimed to promote an African agenda, with topics including the high cost of capital and funding for climate change action. The finance ministers and central bank governors said in Friday's communique that they were committed to addressing debt vulnerabilities in low- and middle-income countries in an effective, comprehensive and systematic manner.
The Herald
17-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald
G20 finance chiefs meet in Durban under tariff cloud
Michael Kaplan, US acting undersecretary for international affairs, will represent Washington at the meetings. 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
News24
17-07-2025
- Business
- News24
G20 finance chiefs meet under tariff cloud in Durban
• For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page. G20 finance chiefs will meet in South Africa on Thursday under the shadow of President Donald Trump's tariff threats and questions over their ability to tackle global challenges together. The club, which came to fore as a forum for international cooperation to combat the global financial crisis, has for years been hobbled by disputes among key players exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine and Western sanctions on Moscow. Host South Africa, under its presidency motto "Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability," has aimed to promote an African agenda, with topics including the high cost of capital and funding for climate change action. The G20 aims to coordinate policies but its agreements are non-binding. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will not attend the two-day meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in the coastal city of Durban, marking his second absence from a G20 event in South Africa this year. Bessent also skipped February's Cape Town gathering, where several officials from China, Japan and Canada were also absent, even though Washington is due to assume the G20 rotating presidency at the end of the year. Michael Kaplan, US acting undersecretary for international affairs, will represent Washington at the meetings. A G20 delegate, who asked not to be named, said Bessent's absence was not ideal but that the United States 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. South Africa's central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said that 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 now 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 U.S. 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 — of which eight are G20 members — has raised fears of fragmentation within global forums. Per-German finance ministry sources said on Tuesday that the Durban meeting would seek to deepen global relationships in "turbulent times". South Africa's 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 of 2024, agreeing on the need to resist protectionism but making no mention of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Reuters
08-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US Treasury's Bessent to skip South Africa G20 meeting, heading to Japan
WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will skip a Group of 20 finance officials meeting in South Africa next week, sources familiar with his plans told Reuters, but will attend the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, according to a Treasury spokesperson. 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.
Bloomberg
17-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
US Draws Ire of France, Canada at Meeting of Finance Regulators
Top officials from central banks and finance ministries were forced to call a timeout at a meeting of the world's most powerful financial watchdog last week, amid clashes over the US stance on climate change. At a June 11 gathering of the Financial Stability Board, officials from France, the Netherlands and Canada voiced dismay after Michael Kaplan, the Treasury's interim undersecretary for international affairs, said climate should only be a focus if there's proof of an imminent financial stability risk, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private talks.
