SA leadership says absence of US Treasury's Bessent has no bearing on G20 Finance meeting

DURBAN - South African leadership insists the absence of United States (US) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has no bearing on the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting, underway in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

The global heads of fiscal and monetary policy are meeting for a third and final time in the country ahead of the leaders’ summit in November.

Bessent has been a no-show at all the meetings hosted by South Africa, after Washington publicly shunned the country over its foreign policy and domestic race laws.

US President Donald Trump's erratic protectionist policies have thrust the global economy into extreme uncertainty.

The Trump administration’s decision to slap trade partners with higher-than-usual tariffs on imports into the US sent global markets into a meltdown.

While Trump put a pause on the Liberation Day tariffs, he returned in June with fresh threats, including plans for a 30% duty tariff on South African goods in August.

The effect would be a drag on investment, jobs, and economic activity in countries exposed to the tariffs.

Director General at National Treasury, Duncan Pieterse, said Bessent's absence had not taken away from talks about how to address geopolitical tensions, fragmentation and addressing calls to return to the rules-based trade system.“We've been very happy with their participation, and the us team has been engaging very constructively.”

The meeting wraps up on Friday with expectations that the fiscal and monetary heads will finally reach consensus amid a difference of opinion on sustainable financing coming from the us delegation.