Milwaukee, Oct. 1 -- US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer joked that Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was "trade minister for life" as he opened a two-day G20 trade ministers' meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Greer made the remark in his opening speech, saying the work of building a fairer trading system would continue long after current ministers had left office, with Goyal being the exception. Greer also met Goyal on the first day of the gathering.

The speech was otherwise a call for the world to rethink how trade is governed. Greer said the world's economies had responded to years of imbalances "mostly with talk", adding that he wanted delegates to leave with "a clearer sense of urgency" and a recognition of the ne...