Argentina Treasury Minister Says G-20 Consensus Easily Reached

(Bloomberg) -- Argentine Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne told reporters Sunday that economic leaders at the G-20 meetings in Buenos Aires weren’t challenged to reach consensus across a range of issues, including trade.

The G-20 meetings "were a real success," said Dujovne. "Consensus was not difficult to achieve."

All countries did sign the G-20 communique, an improvement from the G-7 communique in June when the U.S. withdrew its signature over an ongoing trade conflict with Canada. The G-20 communique noted that rising trade tensions posed a risk to global growth.

“There is a crude and sincere dialogue during meetings, but we look to emphasize consensus when it comes to writing the communique,” he added. "The G-20 is a discussion forum where constructive dialogue is the priority. Bilateral meetings and the World Trade Organization are the arenas where trade frictions are smoothed over."

Despite consensus on the communique, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his European counterparts exchanged barbs on trade over the two-day summit in Argentina.

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