At the meeting of the Trade Ministers of the Group of 7 (G7), countries issued a joint statement underlining their commitment to free and fair trade, a rules-based multilateral trading system (MTS) and the modernisation of international trade rules. Ministers reaffirmed the “vital role” of trade in rebuilding after the COVID-19 pandemic and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.
The G7 Presidency in 2021 (United Kingdom) called the G7 Trade Ministerial Meeting, 27-28 May 2021, to “shape a bold global vision for economic recovery that allows us to build back better together – greener, more prosperous, resilient and fair.” They define four priority areas: World Trade Organization (WTO) reform, trade and health, digital trade, and trade and climate policy.
About WTO reform, G7 countries agree on the need to unite behind a shared vision to ensure that the MTS is “reformed to make it free and fair for all, more sustainable, resilient and responsive to the needs of the world’s citizens.” They support WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in her efforts to modernize the Organization, and welcome cooperation across the G20 and the broader WTO membership towards “tangible results” at the WTO’s Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12).
In terms of trade and climate policy, G7 countries recognise the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) at the WTO as an opportunity to build momentum towards coordinated solutions to global issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss, including through the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow, UK, in November. Ministers agree that collaborative work must be done to address the risk of carbon leakage and its potential impact on countries that have adopted rigorous approaches to reducing carbon emissions.
G7 nations also commit to developing trade policy approaches that support sustainable supply chains for forest and agricultural products. This includes discussions on shared global principles and a common roadmap for global sustainable supply chains to help sustainably conserve forests and other ecosystems while promoting trade and development.
En trade and health, the G7 will prioritize discussions and support, at the WTO, work to identify solutions to expand global vaccine production and distribution. G7 countries will support industry, the COVAX Manufacturing Task Force, and the ACT-A Manufacturing Task Force to increase capacity and engage in supply planning to accelerate progress on vaccination programs around the world.
G7 countries uphold open, diversified, secure and resilient supply chains in the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines and their components, as well as broad global availability, and invite WTO members to formulate pragmatic, effective and holistic solutions to enhance cooperation and anticipate challenges. Ministers reiterate that any trade measures designed to address COVID-19 must be targeted, proportionate, transparent and temporary. In seeking to protect the most vulnerable, they say, it is important to ensure that such measures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade and are consistent with WTO rules.
With regards to E-commerce, Ministers oppose digital protectionism and agree that global digital markets must be open for entrepreneurship and innovation to thrive. The G7 believes that e-commerce needs to support jobs, raise living standards and respond to consumer needs, and supports a permanent ban on customs duties on electronic transmissions. G7 members express their commitment to negotiate the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on e-commerce “in an open, inclusive and transparent manner”, so that the outcome “will benefit workers, consumers and businesses in developing economies as well as those in developed economies”.
Furthermore, the statement states: Concern about market-distorting policies and practices, in particular harmful industrial subsidies, such as those leading to severe overcapacity, a lack of transparency regarding the state’s role in the economy and forced technology transfer. It reaffirms the G7 countries’ commitment to open markets and a global trading system “that must not be undermined by unfair trade”, and calls for negotiations to develop stronger international rules on market-distorting industrial subsidies and trade-disrupting actions by state-owned enterprises.
Trade modernization, WTO dispute settlement, special and differential treatment, forced labor, fisheries subsidy negotiations and women's economic empowerment are also among the issues addressed at the meeting. joint statement.
The G7 is made up of: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, in addition to the European Union.
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