“Year 2016 would be the fifth consecutive year with trade growth below 3% – its weakest sustained level in 30 years”, said the WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo on Friday, warning that there were no immediate signs of significant change in the current trajectory for trade growth.
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Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng’s comments underscored growing concerns about the global economy, which have deepened since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, raising fears of a global recession.
G20 trade ministers agreed on Sunday to cut trade costs, increase policy coordination and enhance financing.
“The G20 members will push the implementation of the accord as soon as possible, help developing countries build capacity… for the agreement, and endeavour to cut global trade costs by 15 percentage points”.
“We recognize that excess capacity in steel and other industries is a global issue which requires collective responses”, said the document, which is the first ever G20 trade ministers’ statement.
Chinese commerce minister, Gao Hucheng, says trade ministers from G20 countries have agreed to work against protectionism. “But there is still great hope and opportunities contained in this”, Gao said.
Today’s talks bring together G20 trade ministers as well as representatives from organisations including IMF, OECD and WTO. The talks will be followed by a press conference.
Sunday’s statement, which referred to the focus placed on investment and trade promotion during last year’s G20 summit in Antalya, also noted that efforts would be undertaken regarding the contribution of migrants in trade and the economy – a matter that had been raised by Turkey.
The declaration cast a spotlight on China’s influence as the world’s largest exporter of manufactured goods such as steel.
The World Bank early last month cut its outlook for world gross domestic product this year to 2.4 per cent, a pace unchanged from 2015 and down from the 2.9 per cent estimated in January, as business spending sags in advanced economies including the USA and commodity exporters in emerging markets struggle.
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“It is a time for vigilance against measures which hamper and restrict trade and against very damaging anti-trade rhetoric”.
