The troubled discussions on the final declaration accurately reflected the state of international economic relations at the end of 2018: the G20 summit, which took place in Buenos Aires on Friday 30 November and Saturday 1 December, took place in an international context that was still tense, against the backdrop of the threat of new US sanctions on cars.
Talks on the summit's final declaration, which was reduced to a record minimum of three pages, proved more complex than ever, according to European sources. We saw two major trading powers, the United States and China, adopting divergent positions and the European Union acting as a mediator between the two parties and as a champion of multilateralism.
These discussions followed two parallel paths with, on the one hand, the European Union, the United States and Japan, and on the other hand, the European Union, China, India and Canada. The European sherpas have largely come in support of the Argentine presidency to try to bring out a compromise on the text.
Among the notable stumbling blocks, which had not yet been resolved on Friday, November 30, were the paragraphs on trade issues, including the preamble recalling the commitment of the G20 to multilateralism and a rules-based international order. While the G20 has agreed on the necessary reform of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), there is still no consensus on the way forward (see EUROPE 12139). A recommendation calling for resistance to protectionism had still not been ratified (see EUROPE 12144).
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, delayed by flight problems, was finally expected in Buenos Aires at the end of the day. She is expected to meet with its US and Chinese counterparts in bilateral meetings to facilitate consensus on trade issues.
In the final declaration, the parties also come up against the language of the paragraph referring to migration and refugee situations.
While the climate paragraph has not yet been approved, a compromise reportedly emerged, referring to the Paris Agreement while noting the choice of some countries not to subscribe to it.
For Europeans, the red lines are known: "no backtracking on climate, trade, including steel, the role of the WTO and international organisations", warns a European source. “The acceptability of the content of the press release will be judged in the light of everything that will ultimately be included. ”
The group of twenty leading world economies is composed of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)