U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is leading discussions with finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 (G20) major economies this week, focusing on reducing global trade imbalances, stimulating growth, and curbing business relations with Iran. The gathering takes place in Asheville, North Carolina, against a backdrop of trade tensions and geopolitical challenges.

Following the Trump administration’s absence from last year’s G20 meeting in South Africa, Bessent aims to reinvigorate U.S. engagement in the forum and advocate the administration’s economic priorities. The two-day meeting arrives amid considerable uncertainty surrounding the future of U.S. tariffs, ongoing disputes with allies such as Canada, and elevated energy and commodity prices resulting from the ongoing conflict involving Iran.

The Iran war has disrupted oil shipments by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, an important transit route, thereby slowing economic progress across many G20 nations. In this context, Bessent has reiterated warnings that countries continuing to purchase Iranian oil or engage in associated transactions risk facing secondary U.S. sanctions.

These pressures highlight the diverging priorities within the G20, which includes China, Russia, and other nations often reluctant to coordinate on collective measures. “Secretary Bessent will want to put Iran front and centre and talk about tightening sanctions on Iran, and many countries around the G20 table will want to talk about anything else,” noted Josh Lipsky, international economics chair at the Atlantic Council. He pointed out that other members are more focused on concerns such as tariffs.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated broad global tariffs imposed under a national emergencies law, prompting the administration to reintroduce levies under alternative legal frameworks. Many of these tariffs, imposed in July on 60 economies including all G20 members and the European Union, targeted countries accused of lax enforcement of forced labor bans, applying rates of 10 to 12.5 percent.

These tariff measures form a central pillar of the U.S. strategy to address trade imbalances, which Treasury officials attribute to government policies that hinder equitable competition. Discussions in Asheville will also likely address ongoing trade probes that could expand tariff coverage to more than half of the United States’ top 16 trading partners, many of which are G20 members, citing concerns over excess industrial capacity.

The talks take place amid an already fraught global economic environment, with the G20 forum grappling with a wide array of challenges, including trade disputes and geopolitical tensions such as the conflict in Ukraine, which continue to complicate efforts toward unified policy responses.