Meeting in Paris on Wednesday 10 June for a Business Summit (B7), representatives of the main business organisations from the G7 countries (France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom) adopted a joint statement for the G7 summit in Evian on the major international economic challenges.
This document sets out recommendations to strengthen competitiveness, resilience and growth in a context marked by geopolitical tensions, the digital and environmental transitions, as well as rising global economic risks, the French organisation Medef explains in a communiqué.
The statement is structured around seven priorities: international trade and economic security, critical materials, growth financing, infrastructure, digital, energy and environment, as well as skills and employment.
A predictable, rules-based international trading system remains a cornerstone of prosperity, supporting investment, innovation and growth within the G7 and beyond, the document states, among other things.
In this context, “B7 expects the G7 to act as a stabilizing force, by better coordinating industrial and trade policies, strengthening cooperation with like-minded partners, and supporting an effective and renewed WTO at the core of the global trading system”.
Building resilient value chains will require diversification and responsible alliances with like-minded partners, stronger recycling and circular economy solutions, as well as co-ordinated public-private action to increase production and processing within the G7.
Among other things, the text recommends that the G7 co-ordinate public-private partnerships to develop the production of semiconductors, advanced batteries and other strategic goods.
As regards critical materials, the main bottleneck remains processing and refining, where capacities are still highly concentrated, the text says. “Critical materials policy must therefore cover the entire value chain, from extraction to processing, manufacturing and recycling. Industrial-scale separation capacities for complex materials such as heavy rare earths remain insufficient, requiring targeted investment and stronger coordination among market actors”.
Secondary raw materials and recycling capacities should also be recognised as a strategic dimension of security of supply.
The recommendations also cover financial stability, artificial intelligence and energy.
Link to the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/maa (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)