The Trump administration rejected signing onto a statement Saturday at the G-20 economics meeting because it included language that championed free trade.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin attended the meeting in Baden-Baden, Germany, along with representatives from the world’s 20 largest economies.
“I understand what the president’s desire is and his policies and I negotiated them from here, and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome,” Mnuchin said at a press conference.
German officials appealed to Mnuchin to include in the G-20 summit’s joint statement language that emphasized free trade but Mnuchin declined.
President Trump has frequently stated he is a proponent of “fair trade” and he has criticized current international trade policy that he claims leaves the U.S. at an economic disadvantage.
