G7
G7 Trade Ministers’ Meeting
“WTO Priorities in the Wake of MC13/Level Playing Field” (Session 1)
July 17, 2024
On July 17, commencing at around 9.25 am for approximately 150 minutes, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, participated in the “WTO Priorities in the Wake of MC13/Level Playing Field” (Session 1). The overview is as follows.
- At the beginning of this session, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), presented thoroughly the current situation of the negotiations at the WTO, taking into account the outcomes achieved at the Thirteenth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13), which was held in February this year. With the upcoming MC14, expected to be held in 2026, in mind, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala also expressed her strong expectation for the G7 to take leadership to achieve concrete outcomes.
- Minister Kamikawa stressed that by taking the advantage of momentum generated at MC13, it is important to achieve outcomes on the agendas which came close to an agreement at MC13 at the earliest possible timing, and pointed out that we need to come up with the new ideas that we have never thought of before in order to reform the WTO. In addition, Minister Kamikawa emphasized that the WTO is an important infrastructure of the world economy that affords legal stability and predictability for businesses, and stated that it is necessary for each WTO Member to uphold the WTO with the sense of urgency.
- G7 members affirmed that G7 will work together to address various challenges to ensure level playing field, including efforts to address non-market policies and practices, as well as to maintain and strengthen free and fair international economic order with the WTO at its core.