G20 trade ministers agree to map global value chains, integrate small firms; discord over Ukraine deters communique

Trade and Investment Ministers of G20 nations, which together generate 75% of the world’s trade flows, agreed on Friday to map global value chains, integrate small businesses with them and ease trade documentation. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, speaking after the conclusion of the two-day G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting, said the outcomes agreed upon were not only the “most significant” in G20 parleys so far, but also included several new elements that had not been part of the G20’s agenda earlier. In the first, we talk of a G20 generic framework for mapping global value chains… towards understanding where the problems are and what needs to be done to make our value chains more inclusive, sustainable and shock-proof,” the Minister said, stressing that many value chains stood broken currently and needed to be revived. “MSMEs have a limited ability, given their small size, to have full access to information, finance and market-sensitive data points so whilst they can contribute much more to economies, they remain constrained in their ability to do so,” Mr. Goyal noted, adding that call for action recognises this challenge and involves upgrading existing databases and portals to provide trade-related information.