In the news: G20 adopts trade growth strategy, Walmart employees return to work and China's statistics bureau tweaks GDP formula

G20 focuses on trade costs, China's steel output

20 trade ministers from the world's leading economies have agreed to cut trade costs, enhance policy coordination and boost financing, PRC Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng said on Sunday. They approved a growth strategy aimed at reversing a slowdown in international trade, and backed guiding principles for global investment legislation such as preventing protectionism and increasing transparency. Excess industrial production capacity was a major concern, particularly in the steel sector. A key complaint by the U.S. and EU has been that China's steel output, which accounts for half of global production, is being dumped on world markets at below-cost prices and pushing overseas competitors out of business. PRC officials have retaliated by saying that China has been the victim of aggressive foreign anti-dumping actions that fail to take into account the country's low labor and production costs. In that respect, the G20 agreement may turn out to be little more than lip service until China succeeds in cutting overcapacity as it looks to make its economy more dependent on consumption rather than production.

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