Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin Welcomed at ‘Very Productive’ G20 Argentina Summit

Finance officials of G20 major world economies convened in Argentina in recent days for talks, including trade discussion that U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin called “very productive.”

The weekend G20 summit in Argentina ended Sunday with a jointly issued communique. The four page document covered areas of agreement and issues for further action.

Secretary Mnuchin posted photos with officials from ten nations at the summit, including Mnuchin’s counterpart from Mexico:

Mnuchin discussed a shared commitment to “strong and broad-based economic growth, trade, and security” in separate meetings with Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, Italy’s Minister of Economy and Finances Giovanni Tria, President Mauricio Macri of Argentina, Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney, and Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso. CNN reported he held 14 bilateral meetings in all. 

“We had good conversations. We have trade disputes that we are trying to resolve,” Mnuchin said of the meetings, according to CNN. He dismissed the idea that they were divided.

At least two of the meetings, those with Tria and Carney, included talk of the United Kingdom’s plans to leave the European Union with “Brexit.”  

In these meetings, the U.S. Treasury secretary also discussed the importance of a strong bilateral relationship with Scholz and Tria, according to Treasury Department-provided readouts of the meetings. With Scholz, Aso, and Tria he specifically discussed “security issues of mutual concern.” Aso and Mnuchin also “reaffirmed the strong economic relationship between the United States and Japan.” 

Al-Jadaan and Mnuchin discussed the importance of the relationship between their two countries and “ongoing efforts towards combatting illicit finance.” 

Mnuchin and Carney discussed “the importance of the Financial Stability Board to the international economy” and “issues relating to cryptocurrency and fintech.”

Sec. Mnuchin “encouraged President Macri and his economic team to continue implementation of their pro-growth economic reform program,” according to treasury secretary. He also reaffirmed the strength and depth of the economic relationship between their two countries. Argentine Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne also attended the meeting.

Dujovne made clear that an end-of-summit agreement was aimed not at denying certain trade disagreements, but focusing on “a strong and clear vision to keep this group alive and functioning in harmony.” CNN reported Dujovne’s position that the Argentina summit communique was easier than past G20 summits: “The trade language was accepted right away.”

Michelle Moons is a White House Correspondent for Breitbart News — follow on Twitter @MichelleDiana and Facebook.