The head of South Africa’s central bank warned Thursday that ongoing trade negotiations, driven by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, could extend global financial market uncertainty.
“In an environment where every country is negotiating bilaterally, these things could actually take a lot of time,” South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters during a G20 media briefing in Washington.
He added that such a fragmented process means the volatility in global financial markets “could be around for a 'long' time to come.”
South Africa currently chairs the Group of 20 (G20) and will hold the position until November 2025. The role includes coordinating an increasingly complex and divided membership, including the United States, China, Russia, the European Union, and the African Union.
G20 finance ministers and central bank governors convened this week on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s Spring Meetings in Washington. Among the attendees was Trump’s newly appointed Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, according to South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.
Unusually, the G20 did not release a joint communique or an official chairman’s statement following the meetings — a possible sign of division within the bloc.
“We did reflect on the current economic development and the extent of the uncertainty that engulfed the financial markets as a result of the trade measures,” Kganyago said.
He noted that most negotiations are being conducted on a bilateral basis. “What you are having is that the negotiations that are taking place are taking place bilaterally,” he said. “And it is very resource-intensive.”
Kganyago added there had been a call within the G20 to return to a multilateral approach to trade policy, centered on the World Trade Organization.
“There was a call that we should restore the multilateral system... with respect to trade, which has the World Trade Organization at the center of those negotiations,” he said.