Finance ministers from the world’s leading economies had gone into this weekend’s G20 meeting in the spa town of Baden-Baden eager to ease their most powerful member closer to the centre ground. But Steven Mnuchin could not be moved.

The US Treasury secretary, according to Germany’s finance chief Wolfgang Sch?uble, appeared to have “no mandate” to settle his country’s position on one of the most pressing issues facing the G20 nations: free trade and protectionism. “We have reached an impasse,” Mr Sch?uble said, later adding: “We did go to great lengths, we tried everything, we went down many avenues together and unilaterally.”

Just over five weeks into his new job, Mr Mnuchin’s freshness bought him time with some delegations who were quick to say it was unfair to expect him to have defined a clear position on such an important issue as trade so quickly.