Leaders of the G20 countries must co-ordinate their national policies to end the global recession, reject protectionism and restore trade financing to more normal levels, according to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
As the world leaders descend on London to discuss global fiscal policy, the ICC has voiced the importance of re-asserting “confidence in the multilateral trading system, which spurred the phenomenal economic growth of recent years and pulled hundreds of millions of people out of extreme poverty".
ICC chairman Victor Fung, who met with UK prime minister Gordon Brown at the Doha round of international trade talks, said: “Trade is the lifeblood of the global economy and the world needs more of it at this critical moment, not less.
“We call on the G20 leaders to harness the political will to adopt policies ensuring job creation and long-term economic growth.”
The ICC said the need for a credible monitoring system for issues such as tariff barriers to combat protectionism was underlined by a recent World Bank study showing that, since the G20 Summit in Washington last November, 17 of the G20 countries have adopted 47 measures restricting trade.
A new survey by the ICC Banking Commission shows overall decreases of more than 40 per cent in both trade credit volume and value.
“A rapid conclusion to the Doha round is one of the most direct ways to rebuild confidence. It will send a clear signal to businesses, investors and consumers the world over that countries can and do work together in their common long-term interest.
“There is a grave danger, already manifested in some ways, that new measures of protectionism will creep in while the Doha round remains in abeyance,” Fung said.
Alisdair Gray, British Retail Consortium trade director, said: “The G20 leaders have the chance to make history. By committing to extending free trade and rejecting the false attraction of protectionism, world leaders have the power to limit the damage of the current global recession. There should be no new trade barriers.
A number of low-cost measures to boost trade finance have been identified in the recently released ICC Banking Commission report - Rethinking Trade Finance 2009: An ICC Global Survey.
No comments yet