G20 meet: Piyush Goyal confident of broad consensus on trade issues

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday advocated for convergence in striving to achieve concrete, decisive, and action-oriented outcomes at the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial in Jaipur.

During the opening session, Goyal said the meeting focused on formulating shared outcomes on issues related to the multilateral trading system, inclusive trade, and the ease of trade and business.

He also expressed confidence that the G20 ministers of trade and investment would achieve a broad consensus on all trade-related issues during the two-day meeting.

G20 nations are deliberating on five priority areas of trade, including trade for growth and prosperity, trade and resilient global value chains, the integration of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in global trade, logistics for trade, and World Trade Organization (WTO) reforms.

On the first day of the meeting, discussions centred on ‘Multilateral Trade for Global Growth and Prosperity’, encompassing an exchange of views on how trade can benefit developing nations and required reforms in WTO.

The second session of the day, titled 'Inclusive and Resilient Trade', focused on issues of trade and resilient global value chains, as well as the integration of micro, small and medium industries into world trade.

“There has been significant progress in the deliberations at various levels to produce a strong outcome document. I am confident that we will all agree on a broad consensus on all trade-related issues, resulting in a robust outcome document and chairs’ text that reflects the global desire to see greater prosperity across continents,” Goyal told reporters.

A session on Leveraging Technology for Paperless Trade is scheduled on the final day of the meeting on Friday. The discussions will conclude with the adoption of the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial statement. Logistics for trade includes the reliability of international trade and cargo operations, the development of logistics infrastructure, and the promotion of international paperless transactions to reduce transaction costs.

During the first session, United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai said the theme 'trade for growth and prosperity' cannot be properly discussed without acknowledging the severe and ongoing impact of Russia’s ‘premeditated and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine’.

“Russia’s actions demonstrate a callous indifference to human life, both within Ukraine and around the world, particularly in developing countries striving to secure their own prosperity,” an official statement from USTR reported on Thursday.

“Ambassador Tai shared her hopes for the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in 2024 and the need to develop an agenda focused on several key issues, including the second phase of the fisheries negotiations, e-commerce, the Sanitary and Phytosanitary work programme, food security, pandemic response, and WTO reform,” the statement said.