The G7 trade ministers’ meeting—which was held in Villa San Giovanni, a port town in Calabria in southern Italy, on Tuesday and Wednesday, 16 and 17 July—had as its main objective to maintain common competition rules for international businesses.
Six partner countries were also present this year: India, Turkey, Brazil, South Korea, Vietnam, and New Zealand.
Opening the summit, Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani declared that he wanted to “ensure a level playing field for businesses in global markets”.
“We need to [...] enable our businesses to compete on an equal footing in every market”, he insisted, reiterating, “The freedoms of trade, commerce, and navigation are fundamental for global trade and growth”.
Although the question of China was raised, not everyone agrees on how to handle the issue. The Italian minister stated that Beijing was “a competitor with which [Italy] wants to have constructive relations”.
The final statement mentions the need to ensure “fair” rules in terms of competition, particularly with regard to “[state] subsidies and [...] state-owned enterprises”—an allusion to Chinese practices.
The leaders also emphasised the importance of reforming the World Trade Organization so that it can continue to “play its essential role” (see EUROPE 13410/13).
See the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/d2t (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)