G20 trade debate targets MFN tariffs and Chinese steel overcapacity

On September 30, 2026, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer asked G20 trade ministers to reconsider unconditional most-favored-nation treatment, while 28 mostly Western countries agreed on the sidelines to work toward higher tariffs on steel linked to excess capacity. The OECD-led Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity also called for an end to subsidies supporting loss-making mills, while China rejected Western overcapacity claims. Multinationals should model a shift from broad WTO nondiscrimination toward sector- and origin-specific measures that may proliferate before a coordinated legal framework exists. Law firms will need to connect trade-remedy, subsidy, customs-origin and procurement advice because the same industrial-policy finding may drive several forms of restriction at once.