01/30/2024 – 14:10
Brazil, which this year presides over the group of the 20 largest economies in the world (G20), will fight for international trade to be more transparent, inclusive and with a lower degree of protectionism, including actions linked to environmental sustainability. The goal was explained by the Secretary of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC), Tatiana Prazeres, who is one of the coordinators of the working group (GT) “Trade and Investments” of the G20.
“The G20 offers a unique opportunity to influence the global debate on development and sustainability. There is a risk of fragmentation, transparency and this has implications for the development of global trade, so minimum parameters are needed,” he said. “Nobody discusses the legitimacy of public policies oriented towards sustainability, like Brazil, but there is room to improve global governance,” he continued.
According to the secretary, this is not an easy conversation, as the topic is highly complex. She explained that, in this first round of meetings (on Monday, 29th and this Tuesday, 30th) of the working group, Brazil suggested the adoption of parameters for all members of the group. “The idea is that there can be an understanding within the scope of principles of interaction of trade policies affected by other objectives. One might think: G20 countries could commit to taking transparent, not so restrictive, science-based measures, not discriminating and avoiding disguised protectionism,” she said.
Tatiana Prazeres commented that the intention is to guide the international debate based on parameters that can be agreed to ensure that trade and sustainable development reinforce and complement each other. “This is the effort: to ensure that there is no negative impact on trade.” After the first round of meetings, which this time took place virtually, three more face-to-face meetings are planned throughout the year. The area's ministerial meeting is scheduled for October.
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