Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a firm call to action to global financial leaders in his opening remarks at the G20 Finance Track meetings on Monday, urging the group to refocus on driving "stronger and more durable growth" by dismantling government-imposed economic barriers.

Addressing the gathering of finance ministers and central bank governors, Bessent framed the U.S. presidency of the G20 around a "back-to-basics" approach to economic policy, arguing that global growth has underperformed for far too long. The message comes as major economies continue to grapple with uneven post-pandemic recoveries and as institutions like the International Monetary Fund have repeatedly warned that weak productivity growth and structural rigidities are holding back medium-term expansion worldwide.

"Many forces can inhibit economic growth," Bessent said in his opening remarks. "But policy failures of our own making must no longer be one of them."

Bessent outlined a comprehensive list of drag factors identified by the G20 finance track that hamper global expansion. Among the key bottlenecks named were excessive regulatory burdens, poorly designed tax systems, internal market fragmentation, lagging public and private investment, and persistent gaps in workforce mobility. The emphasis on structural rather than short-term stimulus reflects a broader shift in international economic policy debates, where forums like the G20 and the IMF have increasingly focused on supply-side reforms — from labor market flexibility to cutting red tape — as the primary lever for lifting long-run growth.

"I think we're already seeing a lot of these leading indicators that we've been talking about, for instance, robust factory construction growth. In order to have factory jobs, you need factories to be constructed first," White House senior deputy press secretary Kush Desai told FOX Business, regarding the U.S. economy. "And so far, this president has added tens of thousands of factory construction jobs."

To counter these challenges, Bessent presented the Trump administration's domestic policy model as a blueprint for foreign counterparts. Highlighting what he termed a "great regulatory reset," Bessent pointed to aggressive deregulatory measures aimed at stimulating investment and boosting wages. He noted that federal agencies drastically surpassed the administration's initial goal of eliminating 10 existing regulations for every new one issued, achieving a 129-to-1 reduction ratio over the past year.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva cited the U.S. model as an example of the right policy to attract business. Speaking to FOX Business at the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Symposium, she said: "You realize that here, 2.5% a year. You go to Europe, it is zero. You go to Japan, half a percentage point. Because of this entrepreneurial environment and the commitment to eliminate red tape, so businesses can flourish."

U.S. Pitch to International Partners

Bessent pitched the U.S. as the premier global destination for capital, citing historic tax relief for working families and energy independence as primary drivers of the next era of economic expansion.

He also commended international partners for pursuing ambitious reform programs of their own to engage the private sector and spur market activity, and welcomed collaborative feedback as discussions continue over the two-day summit.

The Asheville meetings mark a critical milestone in the U.S. host year for the G20, setting the stage for the Leaders' Summit in Florida later this year. Discussions will continue through Tuesday, focusing on structural reform, global financial stability, and private sector investment. How much traction the U.S. deregulation-first agenda gains among G20 counterparts — whose regulatory and labor regimes vary widely — will be a key question as the finance track's conclusions feed into the leaders' gathering later in the year.