WT/L/1089  
 
14 April 2020  
(20-2904) Page: 1/2 
  Original: English  
 
G20 TRADE AND INVEST MENT MINIST ERIAL STATEMENT  
30 MARCH 2020  
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the 2020 G20  Presidency  
The following communication, dated 9 April 2020, is being circulated at the request of the delegation 
of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  
 
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We, the Trade and Investment Ministers of the G20 and guest countries, are profoundly saddened  
by the d evastating human tragedy caused by the spread of COVID -19. The pandemic is a global  
challenge and requires a coordinated global response. The G20 Leaders, following their  Extraordinary 
Meeting conducted on 26 March 2020, committed "to presenting a united f ront against this common 
threat. " Now more than ever is the time for the international community to  step up cooperation and 
coordination to protect human life and lay the foundations for a strong  economic recovery and a 
sustainable, balanced, and inclusive  growth after this crisis.  
 
We have started monitoring and assessing the impact of the pandemic on trade as per the task  
entrusted to us by our Leaders.  
 
We are actively working to ensure the continued flow of vital medical supplies and equipment,  critical  
agricultural products, and other essential goods and services across borders, for supporting  the 
health of our citizens. Consistent with national requirements, we will take immediate necessary  
measures to facilitate trade in those essential goods. We will  support the availability and  accessibility 
of essential medical supplies and pharmaceuticals at affordable prices, on an equitable  basis, where 
they are most needed, and as quickly as possible, including by encouraging additional  production 
through incent ives and targeted investment, according to national circumstances. We  will guard 
against profiteering and unjustified price increases.  
 
We are concerned about the impact of COVID -19 on vulnerable developing and least developed  
countries, and notably in Afr ica and small island states. We are also concerned about the daunting  
challenges facing workers and businesses, particularly the most vulnerable ones. We will ensure  our 
collective response is supportive of micro, small and medium -sized enterprises, and recognize  the 
importance of strengthening international investment.  
 
We agree that emergency measures designed to tackle COVID -19, if deemed necessary, must be  
targeted, proportionate, transparent, and temporary, and that they do not creat e unnecessary  
barriers to trade or disruption to global supply chains, and are consistent with WTO rules. We will  
implement those measures upholding the principle of international solidarity, considering the  
evolving needs of other countries for emergency supplies and humanitarian assistance. We  
emphasize the importance of transparency in the current environment and our commitment to  notify 
the WTO of any trade related measures taken, all  of which will enable global supply chains  to 
continue to function in this crisis, while expediting the recovery that will follow.  
 
As we fight the pandemic both individually and collectively and seek to mitigate its impacts on  
international trade and investment, we will continue to work together to deliver a free, fair, non-
discriminatory , transparent, predictable and stable trade and investment environment, and to  keep 
our markets open.  
 WT/L/1 089 
 
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  We will ensure smooth and continued oper ation of the logistics networks that serve as the  backbone 
of global supply chains. We will explore ways for logistics networks via air, sea and land  freight to 
remain open, as well as ways to facilitate essential movement of health personnel and  
businessp eople across borders, without undermining the efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.  
 
We will continue monitoring and assessing the impact of the pandemic on trade. We call on the  
international organizations to provide an in -depth analysis of the impa ct of COVID -19 on world  trade, 
investment and global value chains. We will continue working with them to establish  coordinated 
approaches and collect and share good practices to facilitate flows of essential goods  and services.  
 
We will convene again as ne cessary, and we task the G20 Trade and Investment Working Group to  
address these issues closely and to identify additional proposed actions that could help alleviate  the 
wide-range impact of COVID -19, as well as longer -term actions that should be taken to support  the 
multilateral trading system and expedite economic recovery. The next Italian G20 2021  Presidency 
is committed to continue paying the highest attention to the international trade climate  in the 
discussion of long -term actions.  
 
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