Business

G-20 proposal on curbing trade imbalances faces opposition

Font Size:

GYEONGJU, South Korea—A proposal among the Group of 20 nations to target curbs on current-account imbalances, meant to avert a “currency war,” itself ran into opposition from industrial and developing nations Friday.

But there were indications the proposal, championed by the U.S. and South Korea, the host of the G-20 meetings in Gyeongju, might garner greater support if any caps on surpluses and deficits were made non-binding.

The idea is for the world’s biggest industrial and developing economies to agree on limits for their external imbalances as a way to “rebalance” global growth away from an over-reliance on U.S. consumers buying goods from Asian and other export powerhouses. The U.S. and Korea proposed limiting imbalances to 4% of each country’s gross domestic product by 2015, according to Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

Full Story: G-20 Proposal on Curbing Trade Imbalances Faces Opposition – WSJ.com