Minister AKAZAWA Holds Meeting with Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO)

Today, Minister Akazawa held a meeting with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the WTO, during her visit to Japan.
Stressing that reform is urgently needed to restore and strengthen the WTO’s functionality, Minister Akazawa stated that Japan will continue to proactively contribute to advancing WTO reform, in light of the outcomes of the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14) held in March and the General Council held in early May.
Regarding the WTO Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions, Minister Akazawa stated that from the perspective of providing predictability and certainty for businesses and consumers, it is important to move forward with a commitment among like-minded countries and regions to maintain the moratorium, in parallel with negotiation among all WTO members.
As a result of the meeting, both sides affirmed their close collaboration towards maintaining and strengthening the multilateral trading system, achieving WTO reform, and reaching an agreement on the Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions.

Division in Charge

International Economic Affairs Department, Trade Policy Bureau