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G20 trade talks yield little progress while tensions simmer
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said nearly all countries agreed action is needed, but current trade remedies are inadequate.
G20 trade ministers gathered in Milwaukee on Thursday but failed to reach an agreement to curb global markets' flooding with overproduced, underpriced goods, a practice The Trump administration claims undercuts American manufacturers.
Trade leaders also failed to reach a deal on forced labor, an issue The Trump administration used to justify double-digit tariffs on more than 60 countries. These levies cover 99% of United States imports, replacing tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court in February.
Animosity between the United States and Canada has intensified since the summer, when President Donald Trump slapped 50% tariffs on about $20 billion of Canadian imports. This week, Trump escalated, banning nearly $1 billion of Canadian products, including alcoholic beverages.
Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the current system of trade remedies is "inadequate to solve this problem." Canadian trade minister Maninder Sidhu pleaded for cooperation, saying, "You're facing some of the same challenges that we're facing. Let's help each other."
The Milwaukee gathering bore no signs of a breakthrough on the major trade dispute between the United States and Canada. Canada remains a seemingly unlikely target, as no country buys more from the United States than its northern neighbor.