Trade ministers from the world's largest economies yesterday pledged to ensure that emergency measures to tackle Covid-19 - such as export restrictions on medical supplies and essential goods - are targeted, transparent and temporary.
They also agreed to refrain from imposing limits on agricultural products and avoid unnecessary food stockpiling, in a statement issued after the second Group of 20 (G-20) Extraordinary Trade and Investment Ministers' Meeting.
Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing represented Singapore at the meeting, which he attended via video conference.
Singapore was invited by this year's G-20 chair, Saudi Arabia, to participate in the group's meetings.
The ministers also agreed to encourage their counterparts in the transport sector to enhance air, land and marine connectivity and work with the private sector to prioritise the movement of essential goods.
This will help achieve a critical mass to maintain connectivity and safeguard jobs, they added.
The ministers also said they would explore Covid-19-related initiatives at the World Trade Organisation to promote more resilient supply chains, and expand production and trade in pharmaceutical, medical and other health-related products.
In his speech at the meeting, Mr Chan said that besides the epidemic curve, the unemployment and business closure curves also need to be flattened. "Our strategy to overcome this crisis would require us to restart our economy and enable societies to adapt to the new normal. Policy coordination across economies, especially G-20 economies, is critical."
He said Singapore will support measures that guard against export restrictions that would exacerbate the breakdown of global supply chains, and reduce global capabilities and capacities - particularly those critical to the production of essential supplies.
"We must uphold the smooth and continued operations of the global connectivity and logistics networks by keeping critical infrastructure, such as our air and sea ports, open to the flow of goods," added Mr Chan. "In a crisis like this, our organising principles must be interdependence rather than independence; collaboration rather than isolation."
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This article was written by Jolene Ang from The Straits Times and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.
