Draft seen by RTRS

The statement is similar to the statement from July 2017, according to Reuters. It will be released March 20.

  • Working to strengthen trade contribution to their economies
  • Strong fundamentals, sound policies, resilient international monetary policy vial for exchange rate stability
  • Flexible exchange rates can serve as shock absorber
  • Excessive volatility and disorderly FX moves can hurt economic and financial stability
  • Leaders to say they will refrain from competitive devaluations, not target exchange rates for competitive purposes

The statement may be tweaked before it's formally released next week. What's unusual is that the statement last year was said to be incredibly difficult because of the US position.

"We underline the crucial role of the rules-based international trading system. We note the importance of bilateral, regional and plurilateral agreements being open, transparent, inclusive and WTO-consistent, and commit to working to ensure they complement the multilateral trade agreements," the draft says.

This is new language: "strong fundamentals, sound policies and a resilient international monetary system are essential to the stability of exchange rates", and also that "flexible exchange rates, where feasible, can serve as a shock absorber".