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On 16 July 2024, Ian Saunders, Secretary General of the WTO, delivered the keynote address at the G7 Industry Stakeholders Conference in Reggio Calabria, Italy. This conference, supported by Confindustria, was organized in the context of Italy's mandate as the 2024 Chair of the Group of 7 (G7). Secretary General Saunders joined a session of various industry and international leaders to discuss how the World Customs Organization (WCO) can collaborate to address contemporary challenges in global trade.
In his speech at the session on “Reconciling Economic Security and Free Trade”, Secretary-General Saunders emphasized the importance of government-industry partnerships in achieving economic stability and equity in the free market. He argued that success in reconciling these objectives depends on building trust among all actors involved in international trade. This trust must be built and sustained through concrete actions and processes, not just rhetoric.
The Secretary-General highlighted the World Trade Organization's strong tradition of collaboration with the private sector, which has shaped the Organization's documents, provided a critical perspective, and facilitated joint efforts to address important issues such as e-commerce, trade resilience, and the effective use of technology.
He exemplified the success of these partnerships by saying: “Our history of working together has produced significant results, such as the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures (Revised Kyoto Convention); the concept of Authorized Economic Operator in the SAFE Standards Framework; and more recently the creation of the WCO's E-Commerce Package.”
“Through these initiatives, we have established a blueprint for Customs improvement, emphasizing the importance of transparency of requirements, predictability of treatment, and clarification of benefits for compliant companies,” he added. Secretary General Saunders noted that institutionalized trust between Customs and industry can lead to solutions that reconcile economic security with free trade.
In this framework, the B7 represents the interests of the G7 business community and shares its positions with G7 leaders. Just like the G7, the B7 membership consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
