Bessent heads to the G20 to rally allies on Iran as tariffs strain ties

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wants to rally the world’s largest economies this week at a time when the United States has disrupted the international order with aggressive tariffs on major allies and an unpopular war on Iran is keeping gas prices high for consumers.

As Bessent hosts meetings of the Group of 20 finance ministers in Asheville, North Carolina, on Monday and Tuesday, he intends to put the focus on a range of issues intended to draw uncontroversial support, from economic growth to addressing mounting debt.

However, the event comes shortly after hostilities renewed between the U.S. and Iran, and as trade friction with Canada spiked following a breakdown in negotiations that led to escalating tariffs.

Daniel Fried, a former assistant secretary of state for European affairs in the George W. Bush administration, said the U.S. may “find it difficult to rally its usual friends and allies” under the circumstances.

If Bessent and other administration officials want international support, he said, they will need to “take greater care in consulting with allies and partners than the U.S. has shown in recent months.”

Bessent wants other countries to help the U.S. isolate Iran in order to force its capitulation during a war that recently crossed its six-month mark. Although the U.S. struck Iran again on Sunday, the administration has previously signaled its intention to focus on economic pressure rather than military action to achieve its goals.

Bessent told The Associated Press on Sunday that the Treasury plans to impose sanctions on another bank. He also said the administration is prepared to exact “financial violence if we have to.”

So far, President Donald Trump has not followed through on threats of an “economic D-Day” for Iran, instead largely relying on warnings to Iran’s trading partners. A particular challenge is China, which is the largest buyer of Iranian oil.

Bessent told the AP that “all options are on the table” in terms of sanctioning Beijing for its continued purchases.

But he rejected the idea that the administration was reluctant to confront China, calling it “a completely false narrative that the media picked up on.” He insisted that China and the U.S. agree on the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

The G20 meetings are taking place in Asheville, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene in September 2024. The natural disaster killed more than 250 people and caused nearly $80 billion in damage from Florida to the Carolinas.

Bessent cites Asheville’s rebuilding as a symbolic backdrop for discussions about economic growth.

“We want the rest of the world to come along with our growth agenda, whether it’s deregulation, the energy independence, and we want to discuss global imbalances, banking regulations, some sovereign debt restructuring for developing countries,” Bessent told the AP.

He added that “the world has this mountain of debt, and we do have to grow our way out of it.”