Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has encouraged the G20 countries to remove export restrictions on food, feed, and fertilizers since they jeopardize the predictable flow of food across global markets and increase price volatility.
The WTO Trade Monitoring Report on G20 trade measures was discussed on the call.
She noted that at a time when food affordability continues to be a significant worldwide challenge, particularly for developing countries, this is causing the international trade organisation a great deal of anxiety.
Remember that between mid-October 2022 and mid-May 2023, G20 economies significantly more trade-facilitating than trade-restrictive measures were enacted for goods.
According to the assessment made public on Tuesday, there is still uncertainty in international trade as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, COVID-19’s aftereffects, extreme weather, and high food and energy costs.
“It is welcome that G20 economies have been taking more steps to facilitate imports, underscoring how trade is a tool to push back against inflationary pressures. I call on them to show leadership by continuing to reduce the number and trade coverage of export restrictions, particularly on food, feed and fertilisers, to help dampen the price volatility that makes life harder for people around the world. G20 economies must continue to show restraint in implementing trade-restrictive measures and exercise leadership in supporting open and mutually beneficial trade,” she said.
The report is presented against the backdrop of a clearly weakening of the merchandise trade, which fell sharply in the fourth quarter of 2022 and seems to have continued to trend below in the first quarter of 2023.
The increase in the global merchandise trade volume is anticipated to decelerate from 2.7% in 2022 to 1.7% in 2023 before increasing to 3.2% in 2024.
The paper highlights the rise in new export restrictions implemented by WTO members since 2020, initially in response to the epidemic and then in response to the war in Ukraine and the food security situation.
WTO countries still had 63 export restrictions on food, feed, and fertilisers as of the middle of May 2023, fewer than the total of 101 that had been put in place since the start of the war in Ukraine. 21 COVID-19-related export limitations are still in effect, as well. Twelve of the pandemic-related export restrictions and 19 of the export restrictions on food, feed, and fertilisers were being upheld by G20 economies.
G20 economies enacted 77 new trade-facilitating and 41 new trade-restrictive policies on goods during the study period. They were mostly import-related actions. In comparison to the previous report, which was released in November 2022, the trade coverage of G20 trade-facilitating measures was assessed to be USD 691.9 billion (up from $451.8 billion), and that of trade-restrictive measures, at $88 billion (down from $160.1 billion).
Overall, there are no indications that the stockpile of G20 import restrictions that have been in place since the financial crisis will be rolled back. By the end of 2022, import restrictions put in place since 2009 and currently in effect would affect 11.1% of G20 imports.
In terms of both initiations and terminations, anti-dumping still ranked as the most common trade remedy action. The dramatic decrease in the number of trade remedy initiations since 2021 can be a result of members’ attempts to keep a plentiful supply of a variety of goods in their respective territories.
During the review period, the G20 economies enacted over 34 new measures related to the trade in services, the majority of which were designed to facilitate trade, such as when it comes to a service provider’s commercial presence or the presence of natural persons from one member in the territory of another member.
The G20 economies introduced a number of new economic support measures during the review period, including programs to reduce environmental impact, plans for the generation of renewable energy, and initiatives to encourage energy efficiency, decarbonization, and agricultural support programs.
