US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is heading into this week’s G20 finance meeting with an agenda designed to promote President Donald Trump’s economic policies, but discussions are expected to focus heavily on concerns over US debt, financial markets and the war involving Iran.
Bessent will host finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 countries in Asheville, North Carolina, for two days of formal discussions beginning Monday. The official agenda includes global economic growth, financial regulation, sovereign debt and economic imbalances.
However, some of the most important conversations are expected to take place privately between Bessent and his international counterparts.
“The biggest private conversations won’t be around sanctions. It’ll be about the bond market,” said Josh Lipsky, vice president and chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council.
“These countries around the table, privately, want to hear directly from him what he’s intending” with his increasingly interventionist approach in the Treasury and foreign currency markets.
Bessent faces the challenge of persuading foreign officials to support Washington’s economic priorities while addressing growing concerns about the impact of Trump’s tariffs, the Iran war and rising US debt.
US Treasury yields are closely watched globally because they influence borrowing costs in other countries. Long-term yields remain at levels not seen since 2007, with inflation concerns, the conflict with Iran and the growing US debt burden contributing to market uncertainty.
US government debt has recently surpassed $40 trillion, while foreign governments and investors hold trillions of dollars in Treasury securities.
Bessent recently announced plans to at least double Treasury buybacks of certain long-term bonds to a minimum of $4 billion per operation. The announcement initially pushed yields lower, although much of that decline has since been reversed.
International officials are also expected to question Bessent about a rare joint intervention involving the US Treasury and Japan in July aimed at supporting the yen. Bessent has defended the move as necessary to prevent further increases in Treasury yields.
Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, who are co-hosting the meeting, travelled to Asheville together on Sunday. Warsh had just delivered a speech at Jackson Hole suggesting that the Federal Reserve could raise short-term interest rates, even as Treasury officials seek to lower longer-term borrowing costs.
US Seeks Support For Iran Pressure Campaign
Another major priority for Bessent will be persuading G20 members to participate in Washington’s latest campaign against Iran’s economy.
A senior Treasury official said Bessent would use “every single bilateral meeting” to encourage countries to cut remaining economic and commercial ties with Tehran.
The Treasury secretary recently unveiled what he called “economic D-Day” for Iran, threatening sanctions against foreign governments and companies that continue conducting business with the country.
On Friday, Washington took its first public step under the campaign by moving to cut UAE-based branches of a major Egyptian bank from the US financial system.
The push is likely to face resistance from countries that have become increasingly concerned about the wider consequences of US policies.
Germany’s Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said he would use the G20 discussions to call for an end to the wars in Iran and Ukraine. He previously blamed the Iran conflict for contributing to rising global bond yields.
“The first step is for everyone to play their part in reducing the massive global uncertainties” that are dragging down growth, Klingbeil said.
“All of this is poison for global economic development.”
US To Promote Trump’s Economic Policies
The Trump administration also plans to present its tax cuts, business investment incentives, increased energy production and regulatory changes as policies that other countries could adopt to stimulate economic growth.
The United States and its G20 partners are working towards producing a joint statement at the conclusion of the meetings, although reaching agreement on some issues could prove difficult.
Global economic imbalances are a particular priority for Washington. The US wants G20 members to examine policies that create excess manufacturing capacity and allow subsidised exports to enter international markets, an approach widely viewed as targeting China.
However, expectations of a consensus are limited, particularly because China is itself a G20 member.
Other issues on the agenda include making sovereign debt restructuring more efficient and transparent, improving financial literacy and tackling financial fraud.
Despite Trump’s expanding trade disputes, tariffs will not form part of the formal discussions. Canada, which is involved in a growing trade dispute with Washington, will also attend the meeting.
A separate G7 finance ministers’ meeting is scheduled for Monday, with discussions expected to cover Ukraine and frontier artificial intelligence.
The Asheville meeting will be the final major gathering of G20 finance officials before Trump hosts the organisation’s leaders at his Doral resort in Miami in December.
US officials are also highlighting Asheville’s recovery from Hurricane Helene as an example of American resilience, while giving business leaders a greater role in the discussions.
“This is the first time ever within the G20 that we’ve brought the private sector to the G20 itself,” Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs Erin Browne said.
Executives, she added, would help “lead and guide” the discussions.
