Today the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is hosting the annual G8 Summit in Northern Ireland, with the Heads of State of Germany, Canada, USA, France, Italy, Japan, the UK and Russia. With these countries still comprising half of global GDP, the bold steps we take by working together through the G8 can make a real difference by driving prosperity, not just in G8 countries, but all over the world.
At the heart of the UK’s agenda for the Summit are three issues – advancing trade, ensuring tax compliance and promoting greater transparency. This is an ambitious, practical and pro-business agenda that benefits everyone around the world.
We know that trade is a driver of growth; yet there are still too many trade barriers globally. We want the G8 to show its commitment to open markets and highlight the benefits of further trade liberalisation to all countries. Particularly important this year will be agreeing a deal on the simplification and harmonisation of international trade procedures (e.g. customs) at the World Trade Organisation Ministerial meeting in Bali in December. Experts estimate this will add USD$70 billion to global GDP per year, including $4bn in Latin America alone.
Peru, a founding member of the WTO in January 1995, will be an important partner in making this work. The recent simplification of trade procedures between the member states of the Pacific Alliance illustrates how much can be achieved with the right commitment in relatively little time. The free trade agreements that Peru has negotiated with most of its principal trading partners, including the European Union, remove more barriers to trade.
On tax, the G8 wants global action to bring international tax rules into the 21st century. The rules haven’t changed for nearly a century and are failing to ensure global companies pay their fair share of tax where it is due. Both tax evasion and avoidance deprive governments of the ability to provide public services that improve citizens’ quality of life.
We also want to put a new, practical, emphasis on transparency, accountability and open government. One focus will be on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). This is a voluntary approach which, through a coalition of government, companies and civil society, provides a standard for companies to publish what they pay and for governments to disclose what they receive from the extractives industry. The UK helped launch EITI in 2003, and will formally become a member this year.
In February 2012, Peru became the first country in the Americas to meet EITI standards and join the grouping, a real achievement for government and industry. We hope the Peruvian government will also sign up to the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights in the extractive industries.
On 15 June, the UK organised a pre-Summit meeting on the theme Open for Growth that brought together transparency champions, leaders of developing countries and business and civil society leaders to make a series of ambitious and broad ranging commitments that we want to challenge G8 leaders to match at today’s Summit. The Summit’s location, Northern Ireland, has been transformed by a peace process in the last two decades, following many years of conflict. We hope that the G8 meeting will also contribute to a lasting transformation, this time to global prosperity.
More information: G8 Summit