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Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Nov25/17) Trade:
G20 leaders rally behind multilateral trade as US opts out Geneva, 25 Nov (D. Ravi Kanth) -- Leaders of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing countries on 23 November issued a powerful declaration in Johannesburg, South Africa, on strengthening the multilateral trade rules, particularly the World Trade Organization. They also inveighed against "unilateral tariffs" while reinforcing the multilateral trade compact. Held for the first time on the African continent under the overarching theme of "Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability", as proposed by host nation South Africa, the meeting was reportedly boycotted by the leader of the world's largest economy, the United States. The two-day meeting (22-23 November) in Johannesburg seemingly reinforced unity and solidarity among the participating leaders in safeguarding the multilateral trade rules, said people familiar with the discussions. Although the United States and Argentina refused to join the consensus on the declaration, this did not stop the other leaders from all continents, including North America, from issuing the final "G20 South Africa Summit: Leaders' Declaration". According to media reports, the host of the meeting, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, did not pass the gavel to the US envoy - in the absence of the US President - for the next meeting, scheduled to be held in the US sometime next year. Despite a US request to hand the gavel to their envoy who was present, South Africa reportedly refused. A spokesperson for the South African President reportedly said: "I mean, it's a breach of protocol. It has never happened before and it was never going to happen for the first time here in South Africa." Nevertheless, the handover of the gavel was expected to take place on 24 November between South African and US officials of similar rank. TRADE AND WTO The G20 South African summit declaration addressed several major issues concerning the state of play in multilateral trade and the WTO and also criticized unilateral trade measures. In paragraph 86 of the declaration, which largely concerns the WTO, the G20 leaders recognized that "trade and investment can be a driver of economic growth, development, job creation, industrialisation, technological progress and contribute to global food security while noting that benefits are not shared by all." They said that they will strive "to ensure that the benefits of trade reach all segments of society and that all people have the opportunity to benefit from trade," while emphasizing "the importance of strengthening multilateral cooperation to address existing and emerging risks and challenges to the global economy." The leaders said they "recognise the importance of the WTO to advance trade issues", while acknowledging that "the agreed upon rules in the WTO are key to facilitating global trade." Also, while further acknowledging that "the WTO has challenges," they recognized that "meaningful, necessary and comprehensive reform of the WTO is essential to improve its functions so that it is better suited to advance all Members' objectives." The G20 leaders also recognised the need for "constructive engagement at the WTO on agriculture and other issues of interest to Members, including development" and called for "constructive discussion at the WTO to identify where progress is possible in ongoing negotiations." Finally, they committed "to work constructively to ensure positive outcomes at the WTO's Fourteenth Ministerial Conference (MC14) in March 2026 in Cameroon." This aspiration may not be fulfilled at MC14 given the latest positions adopted by the US, said people familiar with the development. The G20 leaders' declaration also drew attention to the importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Paragraph 87 of the declaration acknowledged that regional economic integration, including the AfCFTA, is a key enabler of economic growth, resilience, investment and development. It noted "the South African Presidency initiative on a G20 Africa Cooperation Agenda on Trade and Investment, which is a voluntary and non-binding initiative to strengthen inclusive growth and development potential of Africa by harnessing support for the implementation of the AfCFTA, mobilise investments into Africa's productive sector and facilitate investments into key infrastructure projects in support of the African Union Agenda 2063." Meanwhile, in paragraph 40, the declaration delivered a strong message on the importance of food security. It reiterated the G20 leaders' commitment "to ensuring resilient and sustainable food systems and food security through open and non-discriminatory trade policies consistent with WTO rules." The declaration noted that "modernising agriculture and food systems resilience can be enhanced through land, soil biodiversity, energy and water management, reducing food waste, adaptation and mitigation, support for sustainable technologies, innovations and approaches and investment in smallholder and family farmers while promoting the inclusion and the empowerment of women and youth, strengthening local food production, resilient and improved food value chains that facilitate diversified food supplies, WTO compliant national and emergency food reserves, reducing food loss and waste, including through zero waste and other initiatives and international and regional trading arrangements that ensure food supplies complement national food security, domestic production, and enhance access to and affordability of healthy diets." In paragraph 100 of their declaration, the G20 leaders said that "building on the recommendations in the Rio de Janeiro and New Delhi G20 Declarations, we take note of the results of the Third UN Ocean Conference in Nice. The ocean offers solutions to several issues on our G20 agenda, such as strengthening global food security, increasing access to sustainable energy, and conserving and sustainably using marine resources and ending illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing." They noted "the receipt of a sufficient number of ratifications for the entry into force, in January 2026, of the Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (the BBNJ Agreement) and members who are signatories call for its swift and effective implementation." They welcomed "the entry into force of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. We call on the remaining WTO members to accept it as soon as possible." GREEN MEASURES In paragraph 99 of the declaration, the G20 leaders expressed concern over proliferating green measures such as the EU's trade measures relating to deforestation. The leaders said recognizing that "forests provide crucial ecosystem services, as well as for climate purposes acting as sinks," they stressed "the importance of scaling up efforts to protect, conserve and sustainably manage forests and combat deforestation, including through enhanced efforts towards halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2030, highlighting the contributions of these actions for sustainable development and taking into account the social and economic challenges of local communities as well as Indigenous Peoples." "In the context of forests," the leaders said they "will avoid discriminatory green economic policies, consistent with WTO rules and multilateral environmental agreements." They "committed to mobilising new and additional finance for forests from all sources, including concessional and innovative financing for developing countries." The leaders encouraged "innovative mechanisms that seek to mobilise new and diverse sources of funding to pay for ecosystem services." They noted "the launch, during the Belem Climate Summit, of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) as an innovative instrument to incentivise the conservation of tropical forests and support sustainable development." CRITICAL MINERALS In paragraph 33 of their declaration, the G20 leaders said "to secure long term sustainable economic growth, we support increased exploration of critical minerals, particularly in developing countries; promoting diversification of mineral sources, routes, markets, processing locations, and value chains; enhanced value retention and beneficiation in mineral endowed developing countries; and the implementation of robust, non-discriminatory and relevant standards on economic, social and environmental aspects in accordance with national frameworks." They highlighted the importance of ensuring that "the value chain of critical minerals can better withstand disruptions whether due to geopolitical tensions, unilateral trade measures inconsistent with WTO Rules, pandemics, or natural disasters and that more producer countries can participate in and benefit from value chains." +
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