Minister Ng discusses global trade and economic recovery in WTO ministerial meeting

January 29, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

Global trade is more interconnected than ever as Canadians and citizens around the world depend on open, transparent, and rules-based trade to provide reliable access to essential goods and services during the pandemic.

Today, the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, participated in a virtual World Trade Organization meeting of fellow ministers. They discussed key priorities to strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system in support of an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient global recovery. 

During the meeting, which was hosted by Switzerland, Minister Ng highlighted the Canada-led Ottawa Group’s efforts on a trade and health initiative that seeks to keep markets open, facilitate the distribution of vaccines, and better prepare for future global health crises. She also noted the importance of continuing the progress of all other WTO joint statement initiatives, including those concerning e-commerce, which remains critical to the global economic recovery from the pandemic. She underscored Canada’s commitment to reaching an expeditious conclusion to negotiations on fishery subsidies to help preserve global fish stocks and called on WTO members to engage on trade and environmental sustainability at the WTO. She also emphasized the importance of concluding the selection process for the next WTO director-general, as well as resolving the Appellate Body impasse as quickly as possible. 

Multilateral cooperation matters more than ever as work continues to support Canada and the world’s economic recovery from COVID-19. In tandem with her work at the WTO, Minister Ng and her G20 counterparts committed last spring to the implementation of the G20 Action Plan on Trade and Investment. Since then, Canada has been working closely with its partners, including other WTO members, to take concrete action to deliver on these commitments and to support businesses and workers now and in the future.