Talking on the sidelines of the OECD ministerial meeting in Paris on Thursday 31 May, the European Union, USA and Japan agreed to continue their work to address the issue of industrial overcapacity in sectors such as steel and the distortions which are behind this. They also agreed to speed up the discussions aiming to define stricter new rules on industrial subsidies and state-owned enterprises.
European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, Japan's Economy Minister Hiroshige Sekō and US Commerce Representative Robert Lighthizer, who launched this initiative in December 2017 (see EUROPE 11924) and saw each other again in March (see EUROPE 11979), agreed to conduct joint actions "to define the basis for the development of stronger rules on industrial subsidies", deeming that "the existing WTO rulebook on industrial subsidies should be clarified and improved to ensure that certain emerging developing members do not escape its application".
The three parties intend to start their internal procedures "before the end of 2018" with a view to launching a negotiation in which they hope to ensure the participation of their key trading partners.
These negotiations should follow three objectives: improve transparency; better address public bodies and state-owned enterprises to better respond to their market distorting behaviour; have more effective subsidy rules, aiming at banning the most harmful types of subsidy.
The three parties confirmed their shared view that "no country should require or pressure technology transfer from foreign companies to domestic companies", including through the use of joint venture requirements, foreign equity limitations, and licensing processes.
The ministers also acknowledged that resolving the issue of non-compliance by some governments with their WTO transparency obligations is a priority in the work for improving the effectiveness of the WTO monitoring function.
In addition, they agreed to continue their cooperation in the G7, G20 and OECD, as well as in sectoral initiatives such as the Global Steel Forum and Governments/Authorities Meeting on Semiconductors. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)