Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will skip a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 nations in Cape Town next week, according to people familiar with his plans, deepening the rift between the United States and South Africa over policies the Trump administration believes are anti-American.
The decision to forgo such a major economic gathering is highly unusual for a Treasury secretary, particularly one who was confirmed to his post three weeks ago. It comes at a pivotal moment for the global economy, as the United States moves toward imposing tariffs on virtually all of its trading partners. President Trump is also seeking deeper economic ties with Russia, an adversary that the United States was aligned against in coordination with Western allies until he returned to office.
Mr. Bessent’s decision came after a boycott of a similar meeting this week of foreign ministers in Johannesburg by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Mr. Rubio said he was skipping the gathering because he did not want to “waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism.”
Mr. Trump has indicated that he sees little value in multilateral meetings like the Group of 20 and prefers to hold bilateral negotiations with other nations. The theme for the meetings this year is “solidarity, equality, sustainability,” which the administration considers at odds with its views on climate change and diversity policies.
The gathering would have been Mr. Bessent’s first opportunity to meet with his global counterparts and have talks with top financial officials from Europe, China and Russia.
Mark Sobel, who served at the Treasury Department for nearly four decades, called the decision to skip the meetings a “colossal mistake.” He noted that such gatherings were an opportunity for the Trump administration to lay out its global priorities and discuss the state of the world economy and central issues such as exchange rates.
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