(AFP) – The United States on Saturday urged against using food trade as a tool for “economic or political coercion,” while acknowledging the difficulty of reaching a G20 consensus as foreign ministers wrapped talks. The US comments sum up a two-day meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that has been complicated by wars in Iran and Ukraine.
“We are aligned at least in our goal and our understanding that it’s a serious problem, although I cannot say we are aligned on how to solve it,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who hosted the gathering. He referred to the rise of food security problems as a result of energy, fertilizer, and agricultural products being unable to reach their destinations as sea lanes come under attack. This comes against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war and follows Iran’s retaliation for US and Israeli strikes earlier this year.
“It is important the global community agree that trade in food and agricultural products should not be used as a tool for economic or political coercion,” said a chair statement released Saturday by the US G20 presidency. The talks among the Group of 20 major economies — which includes China, France, Germany, India, Japan, and Russia — also took place days before US midterm elections, in which high energy prices are a key voter concern. It is the last high-level meeting before a G20 leaders’ summit in Miami at President Donald Trump’s Doral resort in mid-December.
G20 partners now have “some universal acknowledgement” that issues like freedom of navigation matter, alongside supply chains for critical minerals and food security, Rubio told reporters on Saturday. But he conceded that solving these problems will require much work, with the situation challenged by the Iran and Ukraine wars. The US chair statement also stressed the need for “secure, resilient, and uninterrupted energy flows, including safe navigation” through waterways.
World energy prices have rocketed since Tehran blocked the Strait of Hormuz — a key waterway for oil transit — in retaliation against US-Israel strikes. While the potential for further escalation in the Middle East continues to loom, Rubio told a press conference that Trump “hasn’t made a decision” on fresh strikes. At the G20 meeting, European officials also sought to put more pressure on Moscow, particularly to secure a ceasefire in the Black Sea, a key agricultural export corridor.
Asked about the possibility of a ceasefire, Rubio told reporters that there was growing interest internationally to work towards an agreement. “We’d like to achieve it. It doesn’t solve the war, but at least it solves a unique aspect of it,” he added. The US-hosted foreign ministers’ meetings closed Saturday with some “sports diplomacy” away from the press. Ministers were invited to attend an American football game between the University of Georgia and the University of Florida — for which Rubio’s son plays.
– Beiyi SEOW and Leon BRUNEAU
© 2024 AFP
