Amidst the constrained economic recovery and geopolitical uncertainty, the trade-investment and-industry nexus should be the catalyst to achieving robust and sustainable economic growth, especially for least-developed countries (LDCs) and developing countries. Moreover, the supply chain disruptions that occurred after the COVID-19 outbreak have provided justification for governments to shift from multilateralism and adopt nationalist, protectionist and unilateral policies and measures, as well as forgoing bilateral and regional agreements, thus accelerating the ongoing pattern of fragmentation. Therefore, a call for international cooperation in trade, investment and industry is imperative to address pressing challenges such as the global health crisis, climate change and supply chain disruption.
In this regard, the G20 Trade, Investment and Industry Working Group (TIIWG) has discussed six priority issues, i) WTO reform; ii) the role of the multilateral trading system in strengthening the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); iii) trade, investment, and industry response to the pandemic and global health architecture; iv) digital trade and sustainable global value chains (GVCs); v) spurring sustainable investment for a global economic recovery; and vi) sustainable and inclusive industrialisation via industry 4.0. These issues are crucial to providing future clear direction and agenda-setting for policymakers around the world from the perspective of developing countries.
As the ideas bank of the G20, T20 Indonesia has released the T20 Communique and the T20 Policy Briefs that present evidence-based ideas from researchers/experts around the world. These T20 Task Force Notes on Open Trade, Sustainable Investment and Industry provide policy recommendations tailored to the G20 TIIWG, by following the six priority issues discussed in the working group. These notes also discuss specific recommendations on food supply-chain issues as critical issues that need to be addressed in the G20.
Yose Rizal Damuri is lead Co-Chair in the T20 Task Force on Open Trade, Sustainable Investment and Industry.
Manjeet Kripalani, Executive Director, Gateway House is also a Co-Chair in the Task Force.
This report was published by T20 Indonesia.