G-24 rallies support for WTO; advocates fair, multilateral trading system

The G-24 on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for a rules-based, fair, transparent, and multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core.

The group made the call in a communique issued at the end of its one hundred and twelfth meeting of ministers held at the ongoing World Bank/IMF summit in Washington D.C.

The G-24, or Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four, is an intergovernmental trade bloc that coordinates the positions of developing countries on international monetary and development issues.

The meeting was attended by ministers of the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development with Ralph Recto, Secretary of Finance, Philippines, in the Chair; Candelaria Alvarez Moroni, Undersecretary for International Coordination and Management of the Secretariat of International Economic and Financial Affairs of the Ministry of Economy, Argentina, as First Vice-Chair; and Olawale Edun, Minister of Finance, Nigeria, as Second Vice-Chair.

The meeting of the Ministers was preceded on October 21 by the one hundred and twenty-fourth meeting of the Deputies of the Group of Twenty-Four, with Sharon Almanza, Treasurer of the Philippines, as Chair.

In the communique, the G-24 noted that challenges to multilateralism are not abating and it is concerning that policymakers in some of the world’s largest economies continue to pursue protectionist or nationalist policies that are not in line with global integration on trade and development.

“We reaffirm our support for a rules- based, non-discriminatory, fair, open, inclusive, equitable, sustainable, and transparent, multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core,” the G-24 said.

“We encourage countries to contribute to the strengthening of multilateralism through ongoing initiatives.”

The group said these include the Bretton Woods Initiative, which seeks to develop a long-term perspective on the global economy and the roles of the IMF and World Bank, and the Fourth Conference on Financing for Development, a forum aimed at identifying obstacles and constraints to the achievement of the SDGs and supporting the reform of the international financial architecture.

“We call for enhanced collaboration and cooperation among multilateral institutions to ensure a coherent and collaborative approach towards multilateralism,” it said.

It added that domestic resource mobilization is essential for sustainable development and that it strongly support national efforts to prevent and combat illicit financial flows, corruption, money-laundering and tax evasion, as such efforts would increase domestic resources.

“We call for increased capacity building to support members, to improve their expertise in domestic resource mobilization.

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“We acknowledge the work of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development on tax base erosion and profit shifting, and welcome the progress made on the Two-Pillar Solution under the OECD Inclusive Framework. Additionally, we look forward to the forthcoming negotiation of the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation and its two early protocols.”

The group also called for a constructive engagement as well as multilateral consensus to achieve lasting progress on the initiative.