Argentina attended the virtual meeting of the G20 Trade and Investment Working Group, under the Italian Presidency, during which very important issues were addressed, such as the resilience of the global value chains of pharmaceutical and medical products, the facilitation of services and investments for inclusive recovery, and increasing the presence of MSMEs in international markets.
During the meeting, headed by the Undersecretary for Economic Multilateral and Bilateral Negotiations, Carola Ramón, Argentina highlighted its interest in advancing the agenda of a renewed WTO which meets current and new trade challenges -following the recent appointment of its new Director-General-, the importance of reaching agreements to remove subsidies for agricultural production and fishing, and the importance of discussing issues such as e-commerce, investment, and services.
“Global Value Chains for medical and pharmaceutical products, equitable and affordable access to treatments and vaccines are essential, especially for developing countries. Helping MSMEs to achieve international trade integration is vital, given their contribution to employment and development,” stated the Undersecretary.
Argentina highlighted the need to include the development dimension in the debates as developing countries are the ones hardest hit by the economic and social effects of the pandemic. In addition, further discussions with the other G20 members focused on the need to preserve the continued operation of global value chains for medical and pharmaceutical products and to guarantee equitable and affordable access to treatments and vaccines, especially for developing countries.
