The U.S. Presidency's rationalisation of the G20 agenda reflects a shift from development-centric to growth-centric multilateralism. Examine the implications for India and the Global South.

The U.S. took over the G20 Presidency on 1 December 2025. It cut the working groups from 16 to 4 and narrowed the agenda to three priorities: lighter regulation, secure energy supply chains and AI [1]. This moves the G20 away from the development focus of the India–Brazil–South Africa Presidencies towards a growth-first forum. India gains some opportunities, but the Global South bears clearer costs.

Nature of the Shift

• Working groups draft texts all year. A topic that loses its group usually drops out of the final declaration [1].
• Debt relief, climate finance and MDB reform do not appear among the U.S. priorities [1].
• Consensus is already weak. The U.S. skipped the Johannesburg Summit in 2025 [1].

Implications for India Opportunities

• The focus on AI and supply chains fits India's pitch as a manufacturing and technology partner. Goyal met U.S. CEOs in Milwaukee and Chicago [2].
• Growth-first talks have eased bilateral bargaining. The interim deal cut U.S. tariffs on about USD 30.94 bn of Indian exports from 50% to 18%, and on about USD 10.03 bn to zero [3].

Concerns

• India's 2023 legacy, such as the African Union's membership, is formally safe [1]. The work items behind it may quietly lapse.
• Labour-intensive exports such as textiles and leather still face 18% [3]. Preferential deals also sit uneasily with India's call for a non-discriminatory, WTO-centred system [2].

Implications for the Global South

• Loss of agenda space: without dedicated groups, debt distress and climate finance lose an institutional voice [1].
• No enforcement fallback: the WTO Appellate Body has not worked since 11 December 2019, and after MC14 reform talks only "continue" [4]. Smaller economies without market leverage cannot strike their own bilateral deals.
• The African Union is in its first years as a permanent member [1], and it has joined a narrower table.

Way Forward

• Work with Brazil and South Africa to keep development language in Sherpa-track outcomes.
• Keep pressing for policy space for developing countries [2] and dispute-settlement reform [4].
• Frame AI and supply chains in development terms, such as access to technology and digital public infrastructure.

A streamlined G20 is more agile but narrower in scope. India connects advanced economies with the Global South, so it is well placed to embed inclusion within growth-first tracks. Doing so would serve SDG 17's call for global partnership and the spirit of "One Earth, One Family, One Future".