The Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Maria Tripodi, represented Italy at the Osaka G7 Trade Ministers’ Meeting. The meeting comprised five sessions. Two sessions focused on the topics of Supply Chain Resilience and the link between trade and sustainability and were attended by four non-G7 nations (India, Australia, Chile and Indonesia) and some International Organizations (WTO, OECD, ERIA). In the remaining sessions, the nations discussed the preparations for the next WTO Ministerial Conference (MC/13) planned by the end of February 2024 in Abu Dhabi, the issue of Level Playing Field and Economic Coercion.
The common denominator to all sessions was the challenges and tensions of the current geopolitical context, characterised by trends affecting trade exchanges and by protective and distortive measures of non-market economies.
Undersecretary Tripodi seized this opportunity to briefly describe the priorities of the following Italian G7 Trade Presidency: working towards the achievement of successful outcomes at WTO MC/13 coming up next February in Abu Dhabi, dealing with global challenges and the economic role of the State, and continuing the discussions launched by the Japanese Presidency on economic security, including on economic coercion. More specifically, in this regard, the Undersecretary held a bilateral meeting with the WTO Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, during which she stressed Italy’s support to the multilateral trade exchange system and the essential role played by the G7 in promoting a positive outcome of the WTO MC/13. Moreover, in line with the EU position, Italy restated its willingness to foster a WTO reform that promotes a dispute settlement system based on two levels of judgment.