G20 members have agreed to condemn the use of food and agricultural trade as a tool for economic or political coercion…reports Asian Lite News Desk
G20 countries have reached consensus on condemning the weaponisation of food through coercive trade actions, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said, describing the agreement as an important step towards preventing agricultural products from being used as tools of economic or political pressure.
The agreement was reached after several days of discussions at the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee, where the United States placed the issue on the agenda during its 2026 G20 presidency.
“After days of discussions, and a willingness on the part of the members to act, we are pleased to have reached consensus on the G20 statement on the weaponization of food through coercive trade actions, and we’ll release it later today,” Greer told reporters.
“This is an important step towards ensuring that agricultural products are not used as a tool for economic or political coercion,” he said.
Greer said discussions during the US presidency had focused on how trade in food, agricultural products and agricultural inputs could be used to exert pressure on countries, potentially affecting livelihoods, competition and confidence in the international trading system.
“Throughout the US presidency, we discussed in G20 sessions how trade and food, agricultural products, and agricultural inputs can be weaponized as a tool to exert coercive pressure for economic or political reasons, threatening livelihoods in targeted countries, distorting competition, and eroding trust in the global trading system,” he said.
The US trade representative said food weaponisation was a new subject for formal G20 discussions, although the underlying issue was not new.
“G20 members had a unique opportunity this week to make a collective statement condemning food weaponization to bring more awareness to this important topic and help mitigate its use and effects globally,” he said.
The consensus on food contrasted with disagreements over two other issues discussed during the Milwaukee meeting: forced labour in global supply chains and structural excess capacity.
Greer said G20 members were unable to reach agreement on a joint statement concerning forced labour. However, he said the United States and a smaller group of trading partners would issue a separate statement on eliminating forced labour from global supply chains.
The G20 also failed to reach consensus on a statement addressing structural excess production. Greer said there was broad recognition among members that excess capacity required action.
He said the issue was particularly visible in sectors such as steel, while also affecting automobiles, batteries, solar panels, chemicals and other industries.
“We just came out of a session on this a little while ago, and nearly all countries agreed that this is an issue that requires action,” Greer said.
“And nearly all countries agree that our current system of trade remedies or responses is inadequate to solve this problem,” he added.
Greer said Washington would continue discussions on excess capacity with like-minded trading partners after the Milwaukee meeting, even though the G20 could not agree on a collective statement.
The United States is hosting the G20 in 2026. Greer said the grouping represents around 85 per cent of global GDP and two-thirds of the world’s population, giving it a significant role in discussions on international trade.
The Milwaukee ministerial meeting forms part of preparations for the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami later this year. Trade ministers have discussed food security, forced labour, excess production and possible changes to established principles governing global trade.
