G20 Trade Ministers Meet in Milwaukee; Joint Statement Only on Food Security

The absence of an outcome document beyond food security signals how far the G20's trade track has drifted from consensus on structural issues, with overcapacity, forced labour and MFN reform left unresolved. China's public call to uphold multilateralism and the WTO-centred system reads as a positioning move aimed at the members most receptive to it, rather than a bridge to the holdouts. The open question is whether the food-security statement remains a floor for cooperation or becomes the ceiling.