BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Leaders of the Group of 20 have agreed to fix the world trading system — but only 19 of them agreed to support the Paris accord on fighting climate change.
Applause rose up in the hall Saturday as the leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, signed off on a final statement at the end of a two-day summit.
The statement acknowledges flaws in the world trading system and calls for reforming the World Trade Organization. It doesn’t mention protectionism however, because negotiators said the U.S. had resisted that.
The statement says 19 of the members reiterated their commitment to the Paris climate accord but the U.S. reiterates its decision to withdraw.
The non-binding agreement was reached after difficult all-nIght talks by diplomats.
A copy was obtained by The Associated Press.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she hopes a meeting between the U.S. and Chinese leaders will help resolve trade tensions between the two countries.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to meet later Saturday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires. Merkel told reporters it’s important that the talks “hopefully bring solutions, because all of us see that we are affected indirectly when Chinese-American economic relations are not as frictionless as a world order requires.”
Merkel said she expects the G-20 summit’s communique to include a reference to “multilaterism” — “it has to be fought for, but we are doing that.”
She added that the participants agree reform of the World Trade Organization is needed, and says: “We will send a clear signal — in any case, most of us” for the success of global climate talks starting in Poland on Sunday.
