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  November 23rd, 2015 | Written by

Global Business and Trade High on the 2015 G20 Agenda

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  • G20 committed to implement fiscal policies flexibly to take into account near-term economic conditions.
  • G20 committed to implement Trade Facilitation Agreement to eliminate trade red tape and bureaucratic delay.
  • G20 took steps forward, including the development of international standards, to address “Too Big to Fail.”

Leaders of the world’s biggest economies undertook actions to strengthen the global economy, make global growth more inclusive, enhance the resilience of the international financial system, mobilize investment to raise long-term growth, and implement previous commitments on economic reform and labor markets, according to a briefing released by the White House.

This year’s G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, which ended last week, hosted countries that represent about 85 percent of global economic output.

G20 Leaders recognized that global economic growth is uneven and is falling short of expectations. In Antalya, G20 Leaders committed to undertake a number of concrete steps to boost growth and job creation.

Leaders reiterated their commitment to implement fiscal policies flexibly to take into account near-term economic conditions, so as to support growth and job creation. They committed to expedite implementation of the remaining commitments they made at the G20 last year, which included national growth strategies to lift output by an additional two percent by 2018.

G20 members produced ambitious country-specific investment strategies, which bring together concrete policy actions and commitments to improve the investment ecosystem, foster efficient and quality infrastructure, and support dynamism among small- and medium-sized enterprises. They developed guidelines on best practices for public-private partnerships.

The leaders reiterated their commitment to a strong and effective multilateral trading system and committed to work toward a successful World Trade Organization Nairobi Ministerial Meeting in December 2015. They committed to increase efforts to implement the Bali Package, including prompt ratification and implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, which will eliminate red tape and bureaucratic delay for merchandise shipped around the world, unlocking potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in global economic value once it enters into force. At the G20, President Obama had the opportunity to brief G20 leaders on the recently-concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and our ongoing negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP).

When G20 Leaders met for the first times in 2008 and 2009 in the midst of the global financial crisis, cross-border coordination in financial regulation and supervision had just proven woefully inadequate. Building a stronger, safer, more resilient international financial system has been one of the most important elements of the G20’s agenda. This year, the G20 took several important steps forward, including the development of two key international standards designed to address “Too Big to Fail” around the world. First, Leaders endorsed the Financial Stability Board’s standard for total loss-absorbing capacity of global systemically important banks so that these banks can be wound down without damaging the broader economy or making taxpayers foot the bill. Second, Leaders also welcomed a first version of a higher loss absorbency standard for global systemically important insurers.

Leaders stated their strong commitment to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in September 2015, which sets a comprehensive and ambitious framework for global development efforts for the next 15 years and commits to ensuring that no-one is left behind in our efforts to build an inclusive and sustainable future for all. Leaders also committed to implement the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, adopted at the Third International Financing for Development Conference in July, which provides a comprehensive roadmap to help countries implement policies to attract and mobilize diverse sources of development finance to realize the Sustainable Development Goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda.

The United States continues to lead the world in terms of volume of Official Development Assistance (ODA) committed, the White House noted, with nearly $33 billion in assistance committed in 2014.