Minister Saito Visits Italian Republic

1. G7 Trade Ministers’ Meeting

(1) Overview

• On Tuesday, July 16, and Wednesday, July 17, 2024, the G7 Trade Ministers’ Meeting was held in Calabria, Italy (Villa San Giovanni), and as representatives of Japan, Minister Saito and Ms. Kamikawa Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs, attended the meeting.
• At the meeting, taking into consideration the outcomes of the G7 summit meeting which was held in Apulia in June 2024 and outcomes  under the presidency of Japan in 2023, G7 member countries held three sessions focusing on the themes of [i] WTO priorities in the wake of MC13/ Level Playing Field, [ii] Trade and Environmental Sustainability, and [iii] Economic Resilience and Economic Security, as well as an outreach session on supply chain resilience, by bringing together representatives of partner countries and organizations* and industrial sectors.
• At these sessions, participating ministers held discussions on issues including non-market policies and practices, excess capacity, and improvement of the WTO’s functions, to maintain and strengthen a rules-based international economic order. Following this, they compiled a trade ministerial statement.

*Note: Australia, India, the Republic of Korea, Kenya, Chile, Türkiye, New Zealand, Brazil, Viet Nam, the OECD, and the WTO

(2) Minister Saito’s statements (summary)

Minister Saito made remarks as follows at the respective sessions.

Outreach session: Supply chain resilience

• At the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in May 2024 and the G7 summit in June, "Principles on Resilient and Reliable Supply Chains" were concurred and it was reaffirmed that we would work together through collaboration with trusted partners. It is important that the G7 members are committed to the sustainable growth of developing countries as "trustworthy" partners.
• Japan is committed to create new supply chains together with developing countries by utilizing the newly secured budget of 1 billion dollars for cooperation.

Session 1: WTO priorities in the wake of MC13/ Level Playing Field

• With increasing geopolitical tensions facing international trade, it is indispensable to restore and strengthen the WTO’s functions, including dispute settlement reform, in order to prevent the international economic system from returning to the “law of the jungle”.
• For the WTO to maintain credibility, the WTO should demonstrate that it can address new issues through negotiations and deliberations. From this perspective, the importance of a smooth decision-making process should be emphasized.
• In light of the commitment to accelerating discussions to achieve a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system by 2024, which was reaffirmed at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13), we need to accelerate discussions on unresolved issues including appeal/ review, in the on-going formal process in Geneva, aiming to achieve the goal.
• As a means of rulemaking, plurilateral negotiations are becoming increasingly important. Regarding the WTO E-Commerce negotiations, Japan would like to work towards a prompt conclusion with a commercially meaningful package that reflects business communities’ strong interest, including a permanent prohibition of customs duties on electronic transmissions.
• On the level playing field, advancing dialogues on trade and Industrial policy at the WTO through a forum which maximizes participation is the first step toward strengthening rules and enhancing transparency. Moreover, outside the WTO, we should make use of the revised OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises to work on the development of global norms.

Session 2: Trade and environmental sustainability

• Promoting environmental goods and services through trade is an important issue.
• In re-visiting the scope of “environmental goods,” we should underscore the importance of life-cycle environmental impact, including environmental impact in the manufacturing process, rather than focusing only on environmental impact of finished goods.
• Japan believes that trade-related climate measures should be designed in a way not to be unjustifiably trade-restrictive. To this end, we should proceed concrete discussions at the WTO on appropriate methodologies for measuring the carbon intensity of goods that are traded cross-border, while benefiting from the knowledge possessed by the IEA and the OECD.
• We should advance concrete efforts towards decarbonization in the regional trade agreements or economic frameworks.
• Engagement of the Global South is extremely important in striking a balance between trade and environmental sustainability.

Session 3: Economic resilience and economic security

• To strengthen supply chain resilience, it is necessary to create a market in which factors other than price are fairly taken into account.
• Therefore, based on common principles such as "sustainability" and "reliability", it is necessary to install "criteria" such as decarbonization, supply stability, and cybersecurity, in policy tools such as governmental procurement and subsidies.
• Regarding critical minerals, Japan has extremely strong concerns about the recent export control measures. These measures may have a serious impact not only on industries of Japan but also around the world, including G7 countries. G7 member countries should send a message of unity on concerns about export restrictions on critical minerals.

2. Exchanging views with participating ministers

Minister Saito exchanged views with some ministers of participating countries on bilateral economic ties.

(1) H.E. Dr. Ömer Bolat, Minister of Trade, the Republic of Türkiye (Tuesday, July 16)

The two ministers exchanged views on the expectations for holding a Japan-Türkiye Trade and Investment Summit (TRINS) and on further enriching economic ties in the collaborative efforts to support third countries as well as on the acceleration of negotiations for the early conclusion of a Japan-Türkiye EPA, which are efforts taken on the occasion provided by the opportunity of the 100th anniversary in 2024 since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Türkiye.

(2) H.E. Dr Robert Habeck, Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, the Federal Republic of Germany (Tuesday, July 16)

The two ministers exchanged views on enhancing collaboration as part of bilateral ties in placing economic security at the core.

(3) H.E. Mr. Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Italian Republic (Wednesday, July 17)

The two ministers held discussions on cooperation in G7 meetings under the presidency of Italy and the development of bilateral economic ties.

(4) H.E. Ms. Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, Canada (Wednesday, July 17)

The two ministers welcomed the progress of Japan-Canada economic cooperation. Bearing in mind that the two MOCs signed in September 2023 which are about battery supply chains as well as industrial science and technology respectively, Minister Saito expressed that Japan would like to continue to closely cooperate with Canada as a partner sharing the common values.

Along with this, Japan confirmed with Canada their collaboration in the WTO, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and G7. Canada chairs CPTPP this year and will do G7 meetings next year.

3. Visiting a plant in Reggio Calabria operated by Hitachi Rail Limited

On July 17, Minister Saito visited a plant in Reggio Calabria operated by Hitachi Rail and received explanations from the staff on the company’s railway system project. In addition, he held a meeting to exchange views with stakeholders on business development in Europe.

Related Materials

• Ministerial Statement of the G7 Trade Ministers' Meeting(PDF:339KB)

Division in Charge

Information on the G7 Trade Ministers’ Meeting:

International Economic Affairs Department, Trade Policy Bureau

Information on the meetings with Minister Habeck and Minister Tajani as well as on the visit to the plant of Hitachi Rail:

Europe Division, Trade Policy Bureau