G20 Finance Officials Meet as Iran War Clouds Global Outlook
G20 finance ministers and central bank governors are meeting in Bangkok alongside the IMF and World Bank annual meetings, which run from October 12 to 18. The talks bring together economies representing about 85 percent of global GDP and three-quarters of world trade, but US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be absent because of “domestic engagements”. Washington will instead be represented by Deputy Secretary Francis Brooke and Undersecretary Erin Browne.
The economic fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran is expected to dominate. Regional attacks and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have pushed crude oil above $100 a barrel for much of the past eight months, raising fuel costs, inflation and pressure on public and household budgets, especially across Asia and the Gulf. Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers plans to press for an end to the conflicts and the reopening of the strait.
Officials will also discuss sovereign debt, now above 100 percent of GDP in the US, Canada, Japan, Italy and France. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has warned that governments cannot reduce mounting debt without difficult tax or spending decisions. Prospects for coordinated action remain uncertain: Washington is also seeking scrutiny of trade imbalances and China’s state-backed economic practices, while the previous G20 finance meeting ended without a joint communiqué after China objected to trade language. The Bangkok talks will help shape the leaders’ summit in Miami on December 14-15.
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