G-7 Calls Out Xinjiang Forced Labor, Pushes for WTO Progress

In the June 28 joint statement, the leaders said the rules-based trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its heart, is "more important than ever in the current geopolitical environment.

"It should reflect our shared values, which include openness, transparency, and marketoriented competition, grounded in the rule of law. In a joint effort with others, we have acted over the last months to suspend the Most-Favoured-Nation treatment to products and services from the Russian Federation. We will continue to remove unnecessary trade barriers, including by working against trade-restrictive measures and non-market practices to maintain open and transparent markets, and call on others to do likewise."

"We underscore the importance of plurilateral initiatives to negotiating meaningful and relevant outcomes at the WTO," they wrote, and applauded the results of the recent ministerial conference. They said they want a permanent solution to the moratorium on E-Commerce customs duties, a stronger fisheries agreement, and to make "concrete progress on WTO reform."

"We will further step up our efforts working towards a level playing field through more effective use of existing tools, as well as developing stronger international rules and norms on nonmarket policies and practices, for example harmful industrial subsidies and trade-distorting actions by state-owned enterprises, notably those that lead to excess capacity," they wrote. "We will support structured discussions at the WTO, on facilitating trade in environmental goods and services, and on how trade-related climate and environmental measures can contribute to meeting our Paris and Glasgow commitments while being consistent with WTO rules and principles."

They said they want to use both binding and non-binding measures to advance supply chains that move away from carbon, don't contribute to forest loss, and "promote decent work."

Also on supply chains, the G-7 leaders wrote: " We will also coordinate to share insights and best practice on mechanisms for identifying, monitoring and minimising vulnerabilities and logistical bottlenecks in advance of shocks, including cooperative scenario-based stress-testing. To inform this, we welcome the [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development]’s work on the Security of Supply for Critical Raw Materials. We ask our relevant Ministers, across their areas of expertise to intensify work towards building responsible, sustainable, and transparent critical minerals supply chains, and establishing a forward strategy via international cooperation‚ policy, and financial tools. This should include addressing export restrictions and trade barriers at the international level, and consider all parts of critical minerals supply chains, including processing, refining and the circular economy."

The countries directly called out China, and said, "we are continuing to consult on collective approaches, also beyond the G7, to challenges posed by non-market policies and practices which distort the global economy. We will build a shared understanding of China's non-transparent and market-distorting interventions and other forms of economic and industrial directives. We will then work together to develop coordinated action to ensure a level playing field for our businesses and workers, to foster diversification and resilience to economic coercion, and to reduce strategic dependencies. We are gravely concerned about the human rights situation in China. We will continue to promote universal values, including by calling on China to respect universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, including in Tibet and in Xinjiang where forced labour is of major concern to us."