A media release from the Federal Government dated 27 October 2020, announced Australia’s hosting of a virtual meeting of 22 World Trade Organization (WTO) ministers, with the aim to drive negotiations of global rules on fisheries’ subsidies and discuss the role of the WTO in contributing to the global economic recovery from COVID-19.
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham scrambled the meeting for Tuesday night (AEDT), as he tries to help the battered WTO restore some credibility before he shifts full-time to his new role as finance minister.
The meeting, which includes the US and China, takes place only a week before the US election, which could lead either to a re-elected Donald Trump doubling down on his aggressive approach to trade issues, or a newly-elected Joe Biden attempting to cool things off. And it comes as the 164-member WTO is poised this week to wrap up the five-month contest to choose a new director-general.
The meeting was chaired by Senator Birmingham who, in his last couple of months in the trade portfolio, is looking to inject momentum into the sluggish talks on curbing the world’s fishing subsidies – the only full-blown multilateral negotiation the WTO has on the go right now.
Last year, Senator Birmingham was instrumental in kicking off a negotiation with almost 80 other WTO members on e-commerce rules, in what’s called a “plurilateral” negotiation. He said the fisheries talks were closer to fruition, which was why they were top of the agenda for the Tuesday night meeting. Countries had agreed to try to nail the fishing subsidies deal by the year-end.
Minister Birmingham said maintaining open trade settings would continue to support the quickest possible recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.Â
The meeting was to be attended by representatives from Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Details of the meeting’s outcome will be provided once they are to hand.
Colless Young is a licensed Customs Broker and International Freight Forwarder based in Brisbane. We offer professional advice on shipping, transport and trade through all Australian ports and airports. Our services cover all aspects of logistics, including exports and clearance of import cargo through customs and quarantine, warehousing and trucking.
