We propose that the G20 becomes a key global forum addressing sustainability in GVCs, putting mechanisms into place that allow for exchange as well as consensual but measured and tracked implementation of coordinated action. RECOMMENDED ACTION I: PUTTING SUSTAINABILITY IN GLOBAL VALUE […]
MULTILATERAL COOPERATION ON REGULATION: START WITH DIFFERENTIATING ACROSS TYPES OF DATA Electronic transactions and the data generated in e-commerce transactions involve at least three groups of players: the individual purchasing firm or consumer, who provides the raw data, and uses the processed […]
OVERVIEW OF INVESTMENT FACILITATION INITIATIVES Discussions on investment facilitation policies are underway at the subnational, national, bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. Almost every country has a national investment promotion agency (IPA). In addition, subnational investment facilitation has grown as investment facilitation may […]
Since countries are incentivized to challenge their trading partners’ subsidies that harm their own industries, the weight of evidence calls for more domestic transparency and a proper monitoring system that allows governments to calculate the net effects of subsidies at home, and […]
LAUNCH DIGITAL FDI ENABLING PROJECTS TO CREATE DIGITAL FRIENDLY INVESTMENT CLIMATES Policy-makers may wish to launch Digital FDI enabling projects (DEPs) to create digital friendly investment climates. Creating a digital friendly investment climate requires firms to identify enabling policies, regulations and measures […]
TAKING STOCK Plurilaterals do not follow a one-size-fits-all approach. Rather, several plurilaterals negotiated since the 1980s have followed different models, depending on the purpose they served at a given time in the evolution of the multilateral trading system. We apply three key […]
In order to improve the functioning and centrality of the WTO, prevent further politicization of trade and address sensitive trade matters, the following recommendations, taken in the order they were raised in the text, are suggested: Recommendation 1: National security and public […]
The issues of developing-member status and SDT have been subject to various proposals over the past few years, not only from WTO members themselves but also from trade experts. In line with the US proposal, many suggest that objective parameters and criteria […]
1. THE NOTION OF SUBSIDY The current notion of subsidy laid down in the ASCM is often deemed unsatisfactorily restrictive, and several challenges thereto can be found in the literature (Jung and Suh, 2016; Horlick and Clarke, 2017, pp. 690-6). Reportedly, Art. […]
Proposal 1. Improvements in the Measurement of Sustainable Practices in Crop Production Increasing productivity and total food availability must be achieved while considering the impact of the production systems on climate change and natural resources sustainability. These purposes require a careful and […]
Africa–G20 cooperation is currently limited to a few single initiatives and an observer status for the African Union and New Partnership for Africa’s Development. This level of engagement should be enhanced to focus on the current global challenges and strong economic interdependencies […]
MENA Economic Structure and Trade The MENA region’s gross domestic product (GDP) is approximately $3.6 trillion, measured at purchasing power parity exchange rates, and represents 4.3% of the global GDP. Its share of global trade increased from 3.5% in 1990 to 4.8% […]
Export diversification helps promote economic growth and stability in developing nations. These nations account for a large and growing share of global economic activity, but the world trading system exhibits, besides numerous and significant benefits, numerous barriers to diversification; furthermore, these barriers […]
1. Introduction This policy brief identifies the persistent fragmentation of IIAs as an urgent issue for reform. This is true in both the BIT and FTA forms, resulting in divergent levels of protection and inconsistencies in the application and interpretation of the […]
A Group of Twenty (G20) Investment Facility and Fund to facilitate public–private collaboration on investment reforms that increase both the quantity and quality of investment flows, while providing technical assistance to developing economies to help overcome capacity constraints. A Sustainable Investment Framework […]
1. G20 member countries should improve the design of tax expenditures and avoid their use as tax competition instruments to erode other countries’ tax bases. Rationale: Taxation is an influential determinant of global trade flows. G20 governments should avoid the use of […]
1. Clarify the definition of and update global rules for digital trade Challenge: We have entered the digital age, but do not have a single recognized and accepted definition or means of measurement of digital trade yet. Solution: G20 members need to […]
A number of G20 governments of larger economies have recently laid out reform agendas designed to address what they perceive as key sources of friction in the current trade environment. One agenda, which is focused on industrial subsidies reform, has been articulated […]
In a time when the world is confronted with the economic, social, and political challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, a functioning global trading system, with the WTO at its center, is more important than ever to ensure the efficient supply of critical […]
Before advancing to recommendations, further elaboration is needed on major issues raised in WTO reform proposals as well as an assessment of alternative courses of action that WTO and G20 members currently use to address challenges. Two Confrontational Issues Overall, reform proposals […]
1. Promote the establishment of binding legislation on a national level while ensuring international alignment As a leading forum on issues of international economic cooperation, with members accounting for nearly 80% of international trade globally (10), the G20 is ideally positioned to […]
Disease Containment and Economic Disintegration National governments have, understandably but also after considerable delay in some countries, followed the advice of their medical and scientific establishments and have moved to self-isolate their countries and citizens. Two positive readings can be taken from […]
Trade has become a highly controversial international issue over the past year. Yet G20 members as a whole have steadfastly shown unity in supporting freer trade and recognising its importance in sustaining global economic growth. As the G20 adapts to new global […]
Economic governance has occupied the central place on the G20 agenda since its founding. In the first decade of G20 summitry, leaders of the world’s systemically significant economies made a substantial number of commitments on economic governance. Argentina’s presidency will build on […]
Since the first G20 summit in 2008, G20 leaders have shown strong support for free and fair trade, although it has not always been at the top of their agenda. They have often considered international trade and investment to be engines of […]
This proposal is laid out in two major sections: • Section 1 explores the opportunities emerging in the MSME lending landscape and examines the alternative data used and frameworks developed to bridge the MSME financing gap. • Section 2 details the proposed […]
Business transfers are commonly understood as the transfer of ownership, and in most cases of management, of a company to one or more legal entities or natural persons (e.g. Mandl and Voithofer 2004). They can often be a complex matter due to […]
Promotion of Various Types of Entrepreneurs Creating opportunities for various types of entrepreneurs, including women and young individuals, could develop a range of employment and economic activities. However, women are less likely to be involved in entrepreneurial activities than men in many […]
Adopting an SME Lens When Considering Efforts to Promote GVCs Barriers to SME integration into global markets affect SMEs disproportionately, and policy plays a key role in overcoming these barriers. The complex web of global production highlights that a broad range of […]
Who should be the targets of public support for R&D and innovation? Social returns on R&D investments are usually higher than privates return to inventors due to the positive externality of R&D (Hall et al. 2010). Hence, policy intervention to close the […]
The G20 should adopt non-binding Guiding Principles on Investment Facilitation for Sustainable Development With the objective of (i) leveraging investment for inclusive economic growth and sustainable development, (ii) ensuring that investment policy and measures are transparent, efficient, and effective while preserving policy […]
1. Development of human capital and infrastructure Because a major barrier to the expansion of GVCs is the low productivity of firms, human capital investment through formal education and business training certainly helps firms in countries of all income levels to participate […]
The Critics Are Right: The G20 has fallen short on its Protectionism Pledge. From the start, two design flaws undercut official reports on protectionism prepared for the G20: limiting the policies monitored principally to import and export restrictions used extensively in the […]
A T20 platform for Accelerating the Jobs of the Future Given the challenges described, the proposal is for G20 countries to endorse and facilitate the creation of a T20 platform for Accelerating the Jobs of the Future. Open to all think tanks, […]
1. Reaffirm the purposes of trade agreements. Before addressing how trade agreements may be retooled, we need to clarify what are and should be the purposes of a multilateral organization for trade like the World Trade Organization (WTO). To characterize the purpose […]
1. Promoting international investment policy reform The G20 should continue its important work on international investment policy reform in 2018 and, in particular, initiate steps to operationalise its Guiding Principles for Global Investment Policymaking, agreed upon in 2016 during the Chinese presidency.[1] […]
Opinion surveys about trade typically reveal that many take a favorable view of globalization and trade agreements, but large groups in the United States, the European Union and Japan are opposed. A Pew survey carried out in 2014 found that less than […]
1. Proposal That the subgroup of thirteen countries identified in the text be given a special participation in the Agricultural Markets Information System (AMIS) to encourage the dialog and promote the flow of timely information among them. That AMIS be provided with […]
In an ageing society, when a growing number of pensioners meets a decreasing number of working people, this leads to a decline in per capita GDP under otherwise unchanged conditions. However, the decline in the number of people in employment can be […]
Concerned governments should promote trade growth and create economic development opportunities through eliminating trade protection, facilitating market entrance, avoiding distorted competition policies and attempting to reform global trade rules. First, trade protection should be eliminated to improve trade liberalization. Concerned countries should […]
1) Supporting the Role of the WTO: Examining the Border Adjustment Tax Systems The V20 believes that G20 Leaders could support a declaration committing leaders to focus on trade liberalization but with a determination towards a better sharing of the benefits of […]
Part 1. The G20 must seek committments from all central banks to identify the trading partner country and company for all trade-in-services transactions. Mandate all central banks to collect data on partner trading country and company for all the 12 service categories […]
In light of the exceptional challenges outlined above, the G20, under the German presidency, should step up its efforts to preserve the current global trade and investment system, including upholding effective multilateral dispute settlement procedures, while not losing sight of medium-term reforms. […]
Avoid protectionism and balance globalization Reinforce World Trade Organization (WTO) rules in trade disputes in order to avoid a regression in trade and cross-border investment practices and the rise of US-led bilateralism. Avoid breaking the global value chains that have both brought […]