U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told G20 finance ministers and central bank governors on Monday that economic growth, rather than debt reduction, should be the priority for addressing the world’s elevated debt levels.
Bessent, speaking at a two-day G20 meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, argued that the global debt overhang—accumulated since the 2008 financial crisis and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic—can only be resolved through sustained economic expansion. He stated that many leaders at the gathering appeared receptive to this approach.
"The world is flooded with debt after the global financial crisis and COVID, and the only way out of this is by growing to outgrow this problem," Bessent said. The meeting brings together financial officials from the world’s largest economies to discuss policy responses to ongoing macroeconomic challenges.
