Deliberations to focus on building consensus on global trade and investment-related issues under Indian Presidency

Five Priority issues discussed in Trade and Investment Working Group meetings earlier-Trade for Growth and Prosperity, Resilient Trade and GVCs, Integrating MSMEs in World Trade, Logistics for Trade and WTO Reforms

The G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting TIMM will be held in Jaipur on 24th and 25th August, 2023. The meeting will be preceded by the 4th and last Trade and Investment Working Group TIWG meeting under India’s G20 Presidency which will take place on August 21 and 22, 2023 in Jaipur. The first three TIWG meetings were held in Mumbai, Bangalore and Kevadia respectively. Both the meetings will be attended by more than 300 delegates, including trade ministers/secretaries and heads of delegations from G20 member countries, invitee countries, regional groupings and international organisations. The deliberations will focus on building consensus on global trade and investment-related issues, along with accomplishing action-oriented proposals put forward by the Indian Presidency.

During the 1st and 2nd TIWG meetings, five Priority Issues PIs, namely Trade for Growth and Prosperity, Resilient Trade and Global Value Chains GVCs, Integrating Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises  MSMEs in World Trade, Logistics for Trade and World Trade Organisation WTO Reforms were extensively discussed among the G20 member/invitee countries.

In addition, Knowledge Partners made presentations during these meetings, outlining each of the subjects and outcomes emerging from them. Based on the opinions/suggestions expressed by the G20 member/invite countries in these discussions, Indian Presidency has formulated action-oriented concrete proposals on each of the priority issues reflected in the Ministerial Statement and its annexures.

Amidst the global headwinds that international trade growth is facing, it is opportune for the G20 to reaffirm that the rules-based multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core, is indispensable for advancing our shared objectives of inclusive growth, innovation, job creation and sustainable development.

Technology has profoundly impacted the way cross-border trade is undertaken. Paperless trading system will further reduce transaction costs, make smaller shipments more cost effective, and will enable internationalization of operations at a lower cost, ensuring trade competitiveness in a rapidly digitalizing world and in G20 this issue has been taken up prominently.

It is also critical for the G20 to remove bottlenecks that impede integration of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in international trade.  Since MSMEs are vital for job creation and boosting GDP, it is apt for G20 to address three critical dimensions of inadequate access to business and trade-related information, finance and markets that hinder participation of MSMEs in global trade.

Further, as 70% of the world trade manifest through Global Value Chains (GVCs), it is imperative for the G20 TIWG to deliberate on developing mapping framework that could make GVCs resilient towards future shocks.

The G20 TIWG has also embraced the priority on WTO Reform to build consensus among countries for standing together to support the ongoing reform process and work constructively to achieve meaningful outcomes at the upcoming Thirteenth Ministerial Conference (MC13).

The interventions and suggestions made by the member countries on each of the Priority Issues immensely assisted the Presidency in preparing draft text for the Ministerial Statement and its annexes. The deliberations during the TIWG meetings have led to a good level of refinement in the drafts, and clearly reflect the commitment of G20 TIWG to make global trade inclusive.

It is expected that TIMM will pave way for trusted collaboration amongst G20 members to accelerate global trade and investment. It aims to co-develop tools that could leverage existing opportunities to make growth inclusive and transparent for all, resonating with Indian Presidency’s G20 theme of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.

Knowing the importance of the interlinkage of the five proposed Priority Issues, Indian Presidency had also organized Side Event Seminars on Trade Finance, Trade and Technology, and Trade Infrastructure in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ekta Nagar respectively. The aim of these seminars was to bring together the stakeholders across all layers of governance and brainstorm on collective actions that are needed to build a robust global trade ecosystem.

During TIMM, an experience zone to showcase the wide variety of Indian tea, coffee, spices and millets will be set up for the delegates, and an exhibition on Jaipur Experience will be on display to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Pink City.