ISAS Insights

The Group of Twenty (G20) Summit at Hangzhou took place in September 2016 in the backdrop of adverse prospects for global trade given its sluggish growth and the rising protectionist sentiments. While committing to tackling protectionism, the summit expressed concerns on the overcapacity in global steel production and state- support that was distorting global markets. It established a global mechanism for monitoring overcapacity in world steel production. This marked the success of a rare strategic alignment between some major developed- and developing-country members of the G20, notably the United States, Europe and India, in tackling China's command over the global steel industry. It also marked a shift in the discourse on the role of market-distorting state-support in global trade - with China, rather than industrial nations, now being accused of resorting to such support in greater measure.