Finance ministers and central bankers from top economies are battling Saturday to find common ground on world trade in the face of US President Donald Trump’s “Buy American” drive. Trump, whose tough “America First” talk helped win him the presidency, has withdrawn the US from a trans-Pacific free trade pact and attacked export giants China and Germany. ADVERTISEMENTThat stance has grated with Washington’s partners, who are trying to persuade US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to hold fast to a long-standing G20 anti-protectionism commitment. On Thursday, following talks with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, Mnuchin said Washington had no desire to fight “trade wars” with other economic powers. Climate clashWhile trade has been the weightiest bone of contention at the finance ministers’ talks, climate change — which Trump once claimed was a Chinese hoax — puts the US equally at odds with its longtime partners.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer March 18, 2017 04:18 UTC