U.S. Expresses Deep Disappointment Over G20 Failure to Agree on Industrial Overcapacity

• As G20 chair, the United States criticized the absence of consensus on tackling industrial overcapacity.
• The inability to reach agreement is viewed as a setback in addressing excess production, especially from China.

Updated 5 min 58 sec ago

October 3, 2026 06:23

WASHINGTON, October 3, 2026 (U.S. G20 Presidency) — The United States, currently holding the G20 presidency, expressed deep disappointment on Friday after several members rejected a proposed statement aimed at curbing excess industrial capacity, a practice frequently attributed to China.

The United States currently chairs the Group of 20 major economies for 2026, which comprises nations including China, India, France, Germany, and Japan.

Trade ministers, after two days of negotiations in Milwaukee, were unable to forge agreements on both overcapacity and forced‑labor issues.

A draft ministerial statement targeting excess capacity, which industry argues artificially depresses costs, garnered support from all but a few members, according to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

The proposal urged all nations to eliminate structural overcapacity in their economies and to take additional measures.

“The U.S. G20 Presidency was severely disappointed by the refusal of certain members to endorse the statement,” said Greer, who chaired the G20 trade ministerial meeting, in a statement released on Friday.

The statement did not name the dissenting countries.

In September, China objected to language in a finance ministers’ statement that called on members to “eliminate non‑market policies.”

When questioned about the issue on the sidelines of the G20 discussions, China’s international trade representative, Li Chenggang, responded only that the parties had expressed their respective views.

G20 members also failed to agree on a unified stance regarding the elimination of forced labor from supply chains. Only Mexico and Argentina joined the United States in issuing a joint statement.

Earlier this year, Washington imposed sweeping tariffs on numerous economies, citing forced‑labor concerns, which included several G20 members.

G20 trade ministers nevertheless “agreed that trade in food and agricultural products should not be used as a tool for economic or political coercion,” Greer’s statement concluded.

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