05/28/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/28/2021 08:56

Minister Kajiyama Attends the G7 Trade Ministers' Meeting (Video Conference)

Following the session held at the end of March, the G7 Trade Ministers' Meeting was held via video conference on May 27 and 28, and Minister Kajiyama and Mr. Motegi Toshimitsu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, attended from Japan.

At the meeting, G7 trade ministers had lively discussions on the challenges faced by the free trade system built around the WTO and on approaches to addressing them, in the midst of significant changes in the international trade environment including the COVID-19 pandemic. These discussions took place with a view toward the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) to be held at the end of November this year.

In order to restore the WTO and maintain and strengthen a multilateral trading system based on free and fair trade rules, we will take the lead in WTO reform taking advantage of the discussions at this G7 Trade Ministers' Meeting.

Minister Kajiyama mainly commented on the following:

Trade and Environment

• In order to achieve global carbon neutrality, products and technologies that contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions need to be disseminated, and related supply chains need to be strengthened.

Trade and Health

• The issue that the world is most interested in the WTO tackling during the COVID-19 pandemic is that of ensuring access to medical supplies.
• The key issue for expanding safe vaccine production is how quickly technology voluntary transfer can be implemented. We need to discuss from a broad perspective what is truly necessary for vaccines to become widely available in a timely manner.

Digital Trade

• Digitalization is accelerating further with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the digital economy is providing the foundation for people's livelihoods along with opportunities for all businesses, including small- and medium-sized enterprises.
• In order to counter digital protectionism, measures to unfairly block free data flow must be eliminated.

Industrial Subsidies

• Based on the agreement reached at the Trilateral Meeting of the Trade Ministers of Japan, the E.U. and the U.S. in January last year, Japan would like to reaffirm the direction for the enhancement of disciplines with the E.U. and the U.S., and start discussions at the WTO at an appropriate timing.
• Another challenge will be how to ensure transparency for enhancing disciplines on subsidies. We should strengthen cooperation toward achieving goals such as reforming the WTO notification system.

Support for Plurilateral Action

• In order for the WTO to continue to be a 'relevant organization' that is capable of addressing challenges the world is currently facing, plurilateral negotiations must inevitably be initiated.
• However, it is important that this be more than just an initiative by developed countries, and that openness, transparency, and inclusiveness be ensured in a manner that addresses the interests of many developing countries.

Dispute Settlement System

• In order to encourage compliance with WTO rules, the dispute settlement system need to be functioning properly.
• We should continue to consider what should be done to prevent overreach by the Appellate Body and to ensure it functions faithfully to what was agreed when the WTO was established.

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Related Materials

• G7 Trade Ministers' Meeting Ministers' Communique (Original Text) (Scheduled to be posted)

Division in Charge

Multilateral Trade System Department, Trade Policy Bureau

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