Canada advances cooperation with G7 partners at trade and investment ministerial meeting

OTTAWA, Canada – International collaboration is key to ensuring a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, guided by a strong rules-based international trading system. Such collaboration, including close cooperation with G7 partners, is also an important part of the coordinated trade-related responses to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine.

On September 14-15, Mary Ng, minister of international trade, export promotion, small business and economic development, participated in the G7 Trade and Investment Ministers’ Meeting, hosted in Neuhardenberg, Germany, by Robert Habeck, Germany’s Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

At the meeting, Minister Ng encouraged the continued coordination of G7 members to ensure the effectiveness of ongoing economic sanctions against Russia, support Ukraine’s economic recovery, and address the global challenges of food and energy security and supply chain disruptions.

Minister Ng spoke with Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister and minister of economic development and trade, Yulia Svyrydenko, and reaffirmed Canada’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people. She also highlighted the progress made on the modernization of the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement as a means of supporting Ukraine’s long-term recovery and international trade policy interests.

The minister reiterated Canada’s support for the trade and investment priorities of Germany’s current G7 presidency. These include cooperative efforts on WTO reform, the modernization of international trade rules, the sustainability and resiliency of supply chains, and market distortions related to industrial subsidies and the practices of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

G7 members also discussed how they can work together to raise labour and environmental standards, ensure intellectual property rights, and address economic coercion. Minister Ng emphasized the importance of G7 members working together to advance key WTO reform priorities ahead of the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference, including addressing the impasse on the organization’s Appellate Body and preparing for future pandemics.

Minister Ng also held bilateral meetings with other counterparts. She met with Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice-president commissioner for trade from the EU and Olivier Becht, minister for foreign trade, attractiveness and French nationals abroad from France to build on the opportunities that CETA continues to create on both sides of the Atlantic. In her meeting with Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister of economy, trade and industry and Kenji Yamada, state minister for foreign affairs from Japan, the minister highlighted Canada’s efforts to further increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, building on the success of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. 

“As we face ongoing global challenges, it is now more important than ever that Canada stands arm-in-arm with like-minded democracies, including those in the G7. This week in Germany, Canada continued to advance cooperation with G7 partners in upholding international rules-based trade and driving an economic recovery that benefits all our workers, businesses, and families,” says minister Ng.