OECD, WTO and UNCTAD urge G20 to resist protectionism
2010-03-09 International Business Times, Australia; World Trade Organisation, Geneva
Resources > By Topic > GOODS > Technical Barriers to Trade
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), World Trade Organisation (WTO), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have called on the leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) rich and emerging nations to resist protectionism or the prospects for economic recovery may be wiped out.
The leaders of the G20 committed to resist protectionism and promote global trade and investment at summits held in November 2008, April 2009, and again in September 2009. They mandated the WTO, OECD and UNCTAD – the leading international organisations in the area of international trade and investment policies – to monitor policy developments and report publicly on these commitments.
In their second combined report on G20 Trade and Investment Measures released on 8 March 2010, the three organisations found that most G20 members are holding to their commitments to open trade and investment in the wake of the global economic crisis. There was no “significant intensification of trade or investment restriction”, the report said.
However, protectionist pressures may continue to gather force in the face of job losses and high unemployment, and the G20 must therefore “remain vigilant in opposing protectionism”.
The three agencies urged the G20 leaders to undertake “a clear and stronger commitment to open markets and make concrete their many calls to bring the Doha Round to a rapid conclusion”. At a time when governments are constrained in offering further fiscal or monetary stimulus, open trade can give the global economy a much-needed boost and provide valuable opportunities for job creation, the report noted.
The report, prepared by OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, and UNCTAD Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi, covers measures taken in the period from 1 September 2009 until mid-February 2010.
It is divided into three parts: Part I provides a brief overview of recent trends in global trade and investment flows. Part II, which has been prepared by the WTO Secretariat, deals with trade and trade-related measures, while Part III has been prepared jointly by the OECD and UNCTAD Secretariats and deals with investment and investment-related measures.
The full Report on G20 Trade and Investment Measures can be downloaded by clicking here .
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