Finance ministers from the 20 leading world powers (G20) concluded talks in the German city of Baden-Baden Saturday without a agreeing on a joint position that explicitly renews their long-standing pledge to free trade.
Following pushback from US officials, led by US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, the communique of G20 finance minister backtracked on past commitments such as open trade and outright rejection of protectionism.
Instead, the ministers issued a mildly-worded statement, saying that countries "are working to strengthen the contribution of trade to their economies."
While the G20 remains an informal forum and Saturday's statement is non-binding, it does help set the tone for economic and financial policy for the year ahead.
By contrast, last year's statement called on all G20 states to resist "all forms" of protectionism.
US trade reservations
It marks perhaps the Trump administration's biggest clash yet with the international community. According to reports, officials were looking to replace the group's long standing opposition to "all forms" of protectionism with a new wording that would reflect US concerns and reference "fair" trade. However, no compromise was found, meaning no new deal could be reached by the close of Saturday's summit.
German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble, who chaired the two-day summit, played down the significance at a press conference afterwards, saying the issue was more about wording than substance. "It's not true we are not agreed," he said. "It's completely clear we are not for protectionism. But it wasn't clear what one or another meant by that."
"At some meetings you cannot reach all that you want to achieve. But that is something we can live with," Schäuble said.
Mnuchin remained upbeat following the summit, and said any resistance to the communique was only to ensure that it accurately reflected what was discussed. The US Treasury Secretary added that he would not read too much into the US' desire to change the language.
Trump's quest to shake up the global economic order and fulfill his "America First" platform have already seen the president pull out of key bilateral trade agreements and propose a new tax on goods imported to the US.
Climate change finance off the table
Finance chiefs also failed to pledge their support to climate change finance. While it was widely anticipated, it was nevertheless decried by environmentalists. US President Donald Trump has expressed his skepticism on the issue, labeling climate change a "hoax" and cutting funding for the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The next G20 summit will see national leaders meet in the German city of Hamburg on July 7-8. Germany currently holds the G20 presidency.
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