METI Minister Saito Attends G7 Trade Ministers’ Meeting via Video Conference

1. Overview of the meeting

• On Wednesday, February 7, 2024, a G7 Trade Ministers’ Meeting was held via video conference and hosted by Italy. As representatives of Japan, Minister Saito and Mr. Tsuji Kiyoto, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, attended the meeting.
• At the meeting, in preparation for the MC13 to be held in Abu Dhabi from February 26, the ministers held lively discussions on priorities for G7 members, including the reform of the DS system, the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions and strengthening the WTO deliberative function especially on the interface between trade and industrial policy.

2. Highlights of the speech

• Minister Saito expressed his congratulations to Italy for taking over the G7 Presidency from Japan, and also stated Japan’s expectations that Italy will carry forward G7 initiatives and develop them, including cooperation among the G7 to address economic coercion and counter non-market measures as well as firm commitments to WTO reform and the enhancement of the deliberative function, as confirmed at the G7 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in October 2023.
• In the first half of the meeting, the ministers exchanged views with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the WTO, and confirmed that G7 members will contribute to discussions for the successful convening of the MC13, which is coming up in three weeks.
• In the second half of the meeting, the ministers discussed the outlook towards MC13 among the G7, focusing especially on DS reform, trade and industrial policy, and e-commerce. Minister Saito’s statements generally covered the following points, focusing on each topic.
  • Realizing a positive outcome for the DS reform is highly crucial to regain trust in the rules-based international economic order with the WTO at its core. G7 members should continue to make their utmost efforts to achieve a meaningful outcome at the MC13.
  • Japan supports creating a dedicated space for discussions on  trade and industrial policy at MC13. In order to ensure a global level playing field, Japan, as a G7 member, would like to enrich discussions on concrete measures regarding this issue after MC13, keeping in mind the future outcomes of the aforementioned space for deliberations.
  • Concerning the Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic transmissions, it is essential to make the Moratorium  permanent, or at least extend the Moratorium, to achieve a commercially meaningful outcome at MC13. Japan calls on other G7 members to coordinate with other WTO members to help meet the needs of industry.
  • Concerning negotiations on electronic commerce, it is important to conclude the negotiations in a timely manner in 2024. Japan will continue collaboration with other G7 members as a co-convenor to accelerate the negotiations.

3. Outcome document

• The Joint Communiqué issued by the G7 Trade Ministers on 7 February 2024(PDF:360KB)

Division in Charge

Multilateral Trade System Department, Trade Policy Bureau