Carney: global economic ‘centre of gravity’ shifting away from US
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the world can make progress on a range of issues without the US, following consensus reached at a G20 leaders’ meeting
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the world can make progress on a range of issues without the US, and that consensus reached at a Group of 20 leaders’ meeting in Johannesburg this weekend carries weight despite a boycott by President Donald Trump’s administration.
South Africa, the G20 host this year, defied the US by releasing a declaration from the meeting. Trump ordered the stay away after repeating a debunked claim that White Afrikaner farmers in South Africa are being subjected to a genocide, and Washington said only a chairman’s summary could be released from the gathering in the absence of the US.
The summit “brought together nations representing three-quarters of the world’s population, two-thirds of global GDP and three-quarters of the world’s trade, and that’s without the United States formally attending,” Carney told a press conference in Johannesburg on Sunday. “It’s a reminder that the centre of gravity in the global economy is shifting.”
Carney took office earlier this year after running a campaign that pushed back against Trump’s imposition of tariffs on its northern neighbour and threats of annexation. Carney has focused on reducing the Canadian economy’s reliance on the US.