Paris, February 1st, 2013 – For many years now, the G20 has made principled statements about advancing multilateral trade negotiations in the WTO. Unfortunately, this has had little effect, as almost nothing – with the exception of Russia’s WTO accession – has happened in Geneva. Therefore, we call on the G20 to play a more direct role to restart WTO negotiations. In that context, our ambition is to conclude the Trade Facilitation Agreement as one of the key deliverables under the ongoing Doha round of trade negotiations. According to us, recommending a roadmap for early conclusion of the Doha round is also a key priority for the coming Russian G20 Summit .
G20 leadership would be a boost to these negotiations, which almost everyone agree would be positive for:
• Promoting trade by lowering administrative procedures and costs at borders;
• Simplifying rules and increasing transparency, thus facilitating enforcement of customs services;
• Saving money for companies and consumers by reducing administrative burdens at borders.
Trade facilitation does not alter the market access balance between WTO members. It would therefore be the ideal tool to boost growth in a balanced way for all WTO members.
G20 members should insist on advancing the negotiations in Geneva by identifying the core issues for agreement. We recommend a focus on the following issues: elimination of fees and charges; right of legal appeal; single administrative window; publication of regulations related to customs procedure; simplified and expedited customs release and clearance procedures; making provisions for technical and financial assistance to poor developing countries.
The B20 Coalition will support any initiative of G20 leaders to push these negotiations to a successful conclusion.
We count on you to obtain tangible results for multilateral trade cooperation, which is key to reducing the financial and economic burden on companies and to stimulate trade by simplifying national procedures.
We are prepared to support you to make the Russia G20 presidency a success.
The B20 Coalition members
AIGroup, Australia – BDI, Germany – BUSA, South Africa – BUSINESSEUROPE, Europe – Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canada – CEOE, Spain – CII, India – CNI, Brazil – Confindustria, Italy – FKI, Korea – MEDEF, France – RSPP, Russia – TÜSİAD, Turkey – UIA, Argentina – U.S. Chamber of Commerce, United States
About the B20 Coalition
The B20 Coalition represents the interests of companies of all sizes and industries in the G20 process and ensures through this legitimacy the follow up of business recommendations in between G20 annual summits.
Follow the B20 Coalition’s initiatives on Twitter @B20Coalition.
