Economics

Mnuchin at G-20 Plays Nice While Snubbing Rules of World Trade

  • Multilateral trading system in doubt under ‘America First’
  • G-20 dropped previous commitment to counter protectionism

Steven Mnuchin arrives for a press conference at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, March 18.

Photographer: Thomas Kienzle/AFP via Getty Images
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When U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin left the Group of 20 meetings in Germany this weekend, the worst that delegates had to say about him was that he’d been sent a little unprepared.

It would be far more serious for the global system of multilateral organizations, like the G-20, if unpreparedness from U.S. officials were to morph into disinterest.