G20

The outcome of the G20 meeting in Osaka last weekend of June can be seen as positive; it was a kind of restart after the failure of previous multilateral meetings, with more details and emphasis on previously discussed issues and the addition of certain new ones.

In November 2018, just before the last meeting of the G20 state leaders in Buenos Aires, the focus was placed on whether a communiqué would be issued (there was no such communiqué for the previous G7 summit) and if the meeting between the leaders of the USA and China would avoid a trade war.

Last Saturday the G20 summit was held in Argentina. What better opportunity to discuss the trade war than the meeting of representatives of countries that account for more than 75% of global growth, investment and trade.

The prolongation of the discussions on the finalisation of Basel III has triggered a debate on the adequacy of the current approach to international banking regulatory standards. There is a certain feeling that they are increasingly complex, needlessly detailed and unevenly implemented.

The Annual Summit of the G20 took place on 7 and 8 July, chaired by Germany. There were no unexpected messages, although the intensity of the stress laid on international coordination and cooperation being key to improving economic growth and social wellbeing was remarkable.

The G20 meeting which was held in Baden-Baden (Germany) on 17 and 18 March was not attended in person by Trump, although his influence was very present. Certain traditional G20 messages have executed an about-turn which reflects the new US position.

Alguien ha comentado que los comunicados del G20 contienen un ratio muy elevado de palabras sobre decisiones tomadas, y es cierto que el de la última cumbre de Hangzhou en China no es una excepción y su lectura puede resultar un ejercicio ingrato.

Leaders of the G20 will be meeting in Hangzhou on Sept 4-5 to discuss how to move “towards an innovative, invigorated, inter-connected and inclusive world economy”. The idyllic setting of this year’s G20 Summit should be conducive to cooperation. However, we expect a tepid outcome which looks good on paper but does not translate into actionable policies.