FINAL DECLARATION
We, the Leaders of the Business Organizations of the G7 gathered in Rome on 30-31 March 2017, by thisDeclaration convey our conclusions to the G7 Presidency in view of the Summit of Taormina on 26-27
May 2017. Building on the B7-Japan hosted by Keidanren in Tokyo on 20-21 April 2016, we agreed tofocus our recommendations on two priority challenges.
1. Global Trade Governance. Trade governance is losing pace with globalization, and is threatened byunprecedented protectionist trends. Market fragmentation and self-imposed isolation deprive societies ofthe full benefits of entrepreneurship and innovation, hinder worldwide interconnected productive processes
and jeopardize the benefits of global trade. Exports and imports are beneficial to business, spur job
creation, enhance social progress and inclusion as well as sustainable development, thereby encompassing
the interests of economies and societies as a whole. To reinforce these positive effects trade should begoverned effectively and in coordination with other policies. G7 Countries should not abandon theirleading role in establishing a global level playing field for free and fair trade based on shared rules.
Recognizing our responsibility in supporting free and fair trade, we are committed to the goals of steadyeconomic growth based on innovation, sustainability, rule of law, market access, and fair competition. Ourability to engage hundreds of millions of producers, consumers, investors and innovators from around theworld in market exchange requires open and vibrant economies. G7 Leaders should recognize theimperative of international trade and work with us to improve the conditions for economic growth. The G7should call on all Leaders to resist protectionism, to further promote existing initiatives for free and fairtrade worldwide, to boost key free trade agreements and to seek plurilateral negotiations on new issues.
The G7 needs to identify such issues and effective ways to address them in close partnership withbusiness, including measures for a broader inclusion of small and medium size companies in global value
chains. The G7 should also ensure globally consistent tax rules to further facilitate global trade, andencourage countries, including the EU, to abide by the international consensus regarding the protection ofconfidential information in CbCR (Country by Country Reporting).
Our recommendations aim at enabling the G7 to respond to urgent challenges in three fundamental areas.
1. We call on the G7 to submit to the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference of Buenos Aires in December
2017 a shared proposal to reform and revitalize the multilateral trading system. Taking a pragmatic
approach to addressing imminent issues surrounding global trade, our recommendations
concentrate on major changes needed.
2. We call on the G7 to remain committed to the speedy conclusion and implementation of ambitious
bilateral trade Agreements, in particular the EU-Japan Economic Partnership and the EU and
Canada Agreement (CETA) as these two Agreements will pave the way for the new multilateral
trading scheme. The Transatlantic and Asia-Pacific relations are key for business. The project ofbringing the economies concerned closer together remains a priority for business.
3. We urge the G7 to address important trade issues that are pending, including negotiations on
plurilateral agreements such as those concerning services and environmental goods.

2. Innovation and Sustainability. Modern industrial policies shall focus on enhanced innovation ofprocesses, technologies, services and products and on greater sustainability, especially in the use of energy
and natural resources. It is about both incremental and disruptive innovation to generate new businessmodels, also leveraging people and innovative solutions coming from outside by adopting “Open
Innovation” models. Innovation enables sustainability, and these two drivers will define the future patternsof industrial development by guiding the transition towards a more resource efficient, digitalized,
innovative, low-emissions and more circular economy. In this respect, the challenge for business relies inreconciling economic growth and environmental sustainability while preserving jobs and developing new
skills. There are no jobs on a depleted planet and business is the only force to make sure we can produce
more wealth for the society while consuming less of the finite natural resources. The results achieved by
the manufacturing industry and power sector in reducing CO2 emissions, in energy savings and in waste
management are remarkable, while there is room for further efficiency gains in any sectors.
Industry looks at sustainability as a leverage to trigger competitiveness. However companies have toremain competitive in the marketplace and create employment. We call on the G7 to enhance cooperation
at international level for the establishment of a global level playing field in energy transition and to sustain
and accelerate this process. Research and innovation are key to a reliable global strategy for economic
growth and for business competitiveness. In this regard, we call on the G7 to enhance the collaboration
between companies and other stakeholders, such as public and private research organizations, universities
and technological clusters and to support synergies across existing international value chains. The private
sector is called to play a major role in the new pattern of global partnership, as a crucial enabler forsustainable development. In particular, the challenge posed by Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”)
and the 2030 Agenda foster the transition towards new business models. Public-private partnerships are
key to enhance the scale and the impact, and SDGs must be recognized as a strategic tool that can drive
and inspire the action of the private sector. Large enterprises can play a key role in boosting innovation
ecosystems by acting as drivers for SMEs. However, business cannot be left alone. Access to finance isvital to innovation. We call on the G7 to adopt shared financing schemes, accessible in particular by small
and medium enterprises. The gap between research and market deployment of new products and services
needs to be bridged and supported by adequate funding. In this regard we call on the G7 to increase theefficiency and the quality of public spending by directing investments towards innovative business models
and by focusing on close-to-market activities in order to favor the rapid market entry of the products.
As far as Industry 4.0/Society 5.0 are concerned, the G7 should advance in standardization and deliver alibrary of relevant standards, while promoting the alignment of experts within international standardization
bodies. Cross-border exchange of information schemes specifically designed for SMEs should beestablished. The legislative barriers that today prevent the full exploitation of innovation and circular
economy opportunities, closing the loops between different sectors, have to be addressed. Share formats
for competence centers and digital hubs and mutual recognition schemes for Masters and PhD programs
should be provided. Unjustified restrictions to data flow should be removed and G7 Countries should
refrain from adopting new ones. Security concerns need to be addressed by the G7 by engaging in asystematic fact-finding dialogue with business at the occasion of every G7 Summit.
1. GLOBAL TRADE GOVERNANCE
Multilateralism should remain the cornerstone of free trade and investment. However, to achieve theresults set in 2001 with the Doha Development Agenda, the WTO functioning needs to be reformed.
Recommendation Area 1.1. Strengthen the rule-based multilateral trading system. We welcome theentry into force of the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement that, by reducing the cost of tradetransactions, promises to boost world trade by as much as $1 trillion. We call on the G7 to submit ashared proposal to the 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires for the adoption of a foresighted
reform work plan. For the G7 to steer discussions, our recommendations focus on the following priorities.

Implement the Trade Facilitation Agreement. Implementation will be critical and the G7 must support
Developing and Least Developed Countries. Technical assistance and training programs, as well as
exchange of customs officers and other capacity building measures will be necessary for upgrading thecustoms systems and structures of those WTO members that are more lagging behind. In the absence ofsuch actions, the effective impact of the Agreement will be jeopardized.
Diversify from the Single Undertaking. In 2011 Trade Ministers acknowledged that the system would
not lead the Doha Round to a conclusion. The WTO should actively continue to pursue innovative ways tonegotiate new multilateral agreements without requiring consensus among all WTO members.
Shape new rules for Plurilateral Agreements. An ad-hoc Committee representative of the broad WTO
membership chaired by the WTO Director General should be tasked with identifying market access needs
and with elaborating specific rules for each of them. Its deliberations should be taken by majority. Voting
is already allowed in the WTO system. For a more efficient functioning, a voting system based on
majorities should become the general rule. Art. X.9 of the WTO Agreement that requires consensus for
Plurilaterals should be amended. Only key decisions in selected negotiation areas should be taken by
consensus.
Improve monitoring and information of trade-restrictive measures. Trade Policy Reviews arehampered by the substantial delays – often of many years – in Member States’ reporting to the WTO of
subsidies and other trade measures. A Permanent Monitoring Committee should be established forpromptly identifying trade barriers and solving potential conflicts. A new and more accurate classificationof Non-Tariff Barriers should be established. Notification requirements should become more stringent sothat Members become more accountable. Additional resources should be devoted to internal data
management, including the implementation of a friendly accessible Market Access Database.
Strengthen WTO Committees. External experts from business, national administrations, standardizationand other relevant bodies should be regularly involved to integrate in-house expertise. WTO Committees’
current activities mostly focus on compliance, exchange of information, data-collecting and overlooking
notification processes. They should also assess new regulatory avenues, initiating discussions onchallenging issues not yet addressed in negotiations.
Provide Committees with longer leadership. Average committees’ chairmanship lasts one year: a too
short time for implementing new and more intensive tasks. The Chairs should be assigned for a longer
period and be renewable once to ensure continuity and be given further technical support by reallocating
the resources within the Secretariat officials.
Enhance the dialogue with business. Business can provide in-depth added value and it can be decisive inpromoting the understanding of core WTO functions. In recent years, its interest decreased because of thestandstill of negotiations. A more active engagement of the business community should be pursued on aregular basis, including on the monitoring and assessment of the trade barriers’ effects.
Recommendation Area 1.2. Enhancing key Free Trade Agreements. Preferential Trade Agreements(PTAs) are flourishing worldwide and all involved parties should be encouraged to advance instrengthening their ties. Ambitious, coherent and balanced bilateral/regional agreements are key
pathways for business. There is wide diversity in their scope of application. Those that are negotiated on a
WTO-plus basis are more likely to contribute to the multilateral approach.
Push for an ambitious bilateral trade agenda. Bilateral trade negotiations are being criticized bysections of the civil society for a variety of reasons, including the perception that trade only benefits large
corporations and is not inclusive. On the contrary, “new generation” trade agreements such as EU-Canada
CETA and the EU-Japan EPA, are fundamental to steer and set the rules of globalization in an equal andsustainable way. Business also hopes that the countries concerned will soon find ways of deepening theTransatlantic and Asia-Pacific economic relations.

While the adverse effects of liberalization should be properly addressed and mitigated via appropriate
measures at national level, these negotiations should be rapidly concluded. It is also expected that abusiness-friendly framework will be formed to ensure sound and sustainable economic development
through a new UK-EU partnership.
More stringent sustainability chapters. Effective implementation, monitoring and enforceability are key
to sustainable development chapters of PTAs in order to enhance compliance with human rights andsocial, labor, safety and environmental standards.
Greater attention to SMEs in addressing technical obstacles. A survey conducted by the European
Commission and the International Trade Centre (ITC) showed that a 10% increase in regulations results in
1.6% reduction in exports for large companies and a 3.2% reduction for SMEs. This demonstrates interalia that SMEs are more affected by trade and investment barriers. Therefore, the inclusion of regulatory
cooperation and disciplines regarding non-tariff barriers are key for all businesses, and especially for
SMEs.
Transparency. The public attention to free trade negotiations has significantly increased in the last few
years, and PTAs will continue to be subject to increasing and stricter public scrutiny. On a consensual
basis and without jeopardizing the respective negotiating positions, Administrations should continue toenhance transparency during the negotiating processes, inter alia by systematically publishing mandates
and informing stakeholders on the progress made, in order to meaningfully respond to the perceived lackof involvement of the civil society and to reduce the distrust towards public national and international
institutions.
Ensure a sounder enforcement. Future PTAs concluded by G7 Members should contain provisions
allowing one party to withdraw or limit its tariff concessions in case the partner does not comply with theobjectives of liberalization and market access of the agreement. The Parties should fully maintain theirright to undertake public policy decisions for the effective protection of public services through a negative
list approach.
Recommendation Area 1.3. Promoting Plurilateral Agreements. Bilateral or Regional Free Trade
Agreements have achieved liberalization and market access goals. However, not all provide for a WTOequivalent or a WTO-plus coverage of rules and disciplines relevant to the current international business.
The bilateral/regional approach can contribute to global trade governance, but it cannot provide theworldwide value chain connectivity necessary to ensure stability, uniformity and predictability equal to themultilateral trading system.
Solve remaining Doha issues and move on to Plurilateral Agreements. G7 Leaders should engage theG20 and the other WTO members in order to agree on how to address the negotiations, especiallyregarding market access, and to promptly solve the remaining Doha issues. Where progress was achieved,commitments should be consolidated. An agenda for the 11th Ministerial Conference should be prepared assoon as possible including the priority areas listed below.
EGA. The Environmental Goods Agreement is the plurilateral agreement under the WTO framework inwhich negotiations are the most advanced. An ambitious, future-orientated EGA could contribute toeconomic growth. It is essential that the outcome complies with WTO rules and principles and preempts
negative effects such as new administrative costs.
Set Plurilaterals’ priorities. New negotiating mandates should be identified in innovative and/or
particularly critical areas to start negotiations at the earliest possible. Priority should be given to Digital
Trade, Investment Facilitation and Competition.
Digital trade is a vital part of global economic growth, fostering employment and innovation.
Nevertheless, it is also an area where a significant number of protectionist measures can be observed andwhere a level playing field is necessary, and a multilateral discipline is urgently needed.

Legal, fiscal, customs, security and competition-related issues should be high in the Digital Tradenegotiating agenda. Acknowledging the work conducted under the WTO program on e-commerce, WTO
members should consider how to take this agenda forward and beyond issues strictly related to ecommerce, envisaging a broader Agreement on digital trade, including cross-border data flows, tradefacilitation, intellectual property related issues, and trade with digital services and products.
Investment. A Plurilateral Agreement on Investment Facilitation should address market access obstacles
and discrimination of foreign investors, also building on the work carried out by other international
Organizations.
Competition: Based on the provisions set in the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures –SCM, the Plurilateral Agreement should address their extension to services, it should clarify what regime
is applicable to State Owned Enterprise – SOEs, and it should provide specific rules for subsidies usedoutside national borders (e.g. for Mergers & Acquisition purposes).
TiSA. Other plurilateral Agreements such as TiSA would be an important intermediate step to strengthen
the multilateral trade regime although it has been negotiated outside the WTO framework. The
negotiations have recently been put on indefinite hold, however, the advancement of TiSA negotiations is
crucial for the G7 Government to encourage individual government to resume and promote thenegotiations.
2. INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY
Recommendation Area 2.1. Resource efficiency – energy & environment as industrial policy drivers.
For industry, resource efficiency means a more sustainable management of energy, materials and soil.
Being fully involved in global value chains, industry can address the opportunities, risks and challenges
associated with resource exploitation and deliver effective solutions by applying the “reduce, reuse,recycle” principle. We call on the G7 Countries to set up the necessary regulatory and investment
frameworks. Priority should be given to the following policy actions.
Extend the scope of the G7 Alliance to increase global resource productivity. Building on its latest
achievements, the G7 Alliance for Resource Efficiency should outreach and involve fast growing
economies.
Favor policy convergence in support of global industrial value chains. Consistent policies andincentives are needed for companies to embed resource efficiency in business growth strategies. As global
industrial value chains are complex and include sector-specific features, quick-fix solutions are to be
avoided. We call on G7 Leaders to review national and regional policy initiatives that incentivize resource
efficiency with a view to progressing towards policy regulatory convergence. This convergence should
also be based on principles, such as life cycle approach (LCA) when assessing the impacts of materials or
prioritizing substances, as well as on quality and predictability of regulations.
Support the transition towards a circular economy by developing shared indicators. A goodunderstanding of material flows, based on credible and robust data, is indispensable for industries andbusinesses that are more and more interconnected into global value chains. We call on G7 Leaders topromote the adoption of a common work plan to strengthen the shared understanding of material flows,
based on a set of shared global scientific indicators and methodologies.
Allow business to deploy its full potential in polluted site remediation. By managing polluted site
remediation business would actively pursue resource efficiency objectives and preserve natural assets. We
call on the G7 to incentivize on-site remediation technologies that are more economically efficient andmore environmentally effective.

Drive the global energy transition. To achieve a long term sustainable energy system economic growthmust be decoupled from energy demand and associated emissions through energy efficiency and lowcarbon supply. In this context, low-carbon electricity, as well as heating and cooling and cleaner
transportation systems are of outmost importance. Technology neutrality must be the driving principle
while to accomplish the transition traditional and innovative energy sources must be integrated. We call on
the G7 to support research and development of incremental and radical innovations to low-carbonize theglobal energy.
Implement the Paris Agreement through an effective MRV. The 2015 Paris Agreement is a significant
step towards a low-carbon economy. After its entry into force in 2016 the concrete implementation of
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) needs to be tracked. Building upon the outcomes of COP22
in Marrakech, we call the G7 to take the lead for the contracting parties to adopt transparent mechanisms
for measuring, reporting and verifying the effective implementation of national commitments.
Strengthen international cooperation on market mechanisms. To reduce GHG emissions in the longterm market mechanisms are preferable solutions in terms of environmental protection when they ensure
higher predictability and integrity. The G7 should further explore the potential of art. 6 of the Paris
Agreement, which provides the framework for enhanced cooperation in this field.
Promote investments in energy efficiency and renewable technologies. Along with the increasing
deployment of renewable energy sources in power and heat production, more investments in innovativetechnologies are necessary to reduce the energy and carbon intensity of other sectors. A significant
percentage of cumulative emissions could be reduced worldwide by improving the efficiency of electricity
use. Provided that different solutions can suit specific purposes, the G7 should remove barriers to energy
efficiency and stimulate private and public investments in most promising technologies.
Recommendation Area 2.2. Research & Innovation. At their meeting in Tsukuba, in May 2016, the G7
Science and Technology Ministers recognized that science, technology, and innovation (STI) are essential
for social and economic development and for addressing global challenges such as health, energy,
agriculture and the environment. A thriving science ecosystem requires a diverse set of policies that
support continued investment in discovery and applied sciences and importantly includes industrial
policies that support access and uptake to resulting innovation. Innovation and commercial policies must
reinforce one another, particularly given the investment and high risk of failure associated with truly
breakthrough innovations that contribute to public health, environmental solutions, and other public
goods. G7 policy-makers must establish frameworks that allow business to recoup investment ininnovation. If innovation is not recognized and reimbursed commensurate with its value, this acts as adisincentive for continued private investment and puts all the cost innovation on public finance. To deliveron the goal to address global challenges, STI industries, should be supported by the following policy
actions.
Supporting investments in Research and Innovation The G7 Countries should adopt an appropriate
combination of policy measures to support Research & Innovation investments: fiscal and financial
incentives, such as the structural tax credit for R&I; incentives for purchasing or leasing machineries andequipments; provide access to finance through state guarantee on bank loans; public-private funds; andenforce intellectual property protection. Since Innovation comes from studies and research and it is not
only about technologies, the G7 countries should increase incentives for innovation activities especially ifthey are strongly related to sustainability matters, creating shared value for the people and theenvironment.
Foster collaboration between public and private research systems. A stronger public-private R&D
collaboration is a fundamental pillar to enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of technology andinnovation policy. The G7 Countries should promote wider and stronger partnerships through direct andindirect support measures, pushing and helping companies in adopting an “Open Innovation” approach.

Build an innovation-friendly business environment. The G7 should look for harmonized schemes tofacilitate start-up business in accessing debt and equity finance, and adopt regulatory frameworks that do
not prevent the development of new business models. In this framework, the implementation of an‘innovation principle’ would help assessing the impact of new regulations and standards on innovation.
Strengthen innovative value chains. It is crucial to promote collaboration between enterprises and other
R&I actors, strengthening synergies across existing international value chains, as well as creating new
ones. We call on the G7 to promote the adoption of key enabling technologies (KETs) within and acrosssectors and to support the strengthening of technological industrial clusters.
Promote innovative Public Procurement of Innovative solutions (PPI). A strong and stable demandthrough government procurement can stimulate innovation by bringing innovative commercial endsolutions earlier to the market. Contracting authorities should act as a launch-pad of innovative goods orservices which are not yet available on large scale commercial basis. The G7 Countries should adopt
Innovative Public procurement as a structural element of their action.
Developing new educational path, new skills for the jobs of the future. Educational and training pathmust meet the demand for new skills and competencies. G7 Countries should establish joint training
projects to favor the placement of PHDs in R&D intensive companies. New skills sets need to be
identified early in an innovation’s lifecycle so that the properly trained individuals can come on stream as
innovation is scaled and introduced to the market. In mature G7 societies, life sciences andbiopharmaceutical jobs have one of the largest multipliers for indirect and induced jobs. Education forthese jobs is a major growth path for G7.
Recommendation Area 2.3. Supporting Industry 4.0 / Society 5.0.
Standardization. To achieve the requested level of integration of different IoT (Internet of Things)
solutions, the modern digital economy environment needs adequate open standards, scalability, plug&play
mechanisms, security, interoperability and global standardization through relevant fora/consortia. To
achieve these objectives, the G7 Countries should understand priority areas for digital standardization
based on a broad consensus among the stakeholders and coordinate its policy priorities to sustain this
digital leadership. The alignment of experts within international and global standardization bodies should
also be promoted by the G7.
Support the engagement of SMEs. It is crucial that SMEs easily access smart manufacturing applications
and digital skills. “Use cases” and future developments and scenarios should be available to SMEs to seize
appropriate strategies. We call on the G7 to adopt cross-border exchange of information schemes
specifically designed for SMEs to foster positive cross-fertilization.
Skills Empowerment. New qualification-profiles will be increasingly needed at all levels of industry
production. While training-on-the-job initiatives may suit those already in the labor market, neweducational and vocational programs will have to be conceived and implemented for smart manufacturing“native” workers. This includes continuing to re-skill the workforce as demand develops with technology.
In this regard we call on the G7 to share formats for the activation of competence centers and digital hubs
and to establish mutually recognized Masters and PhD programs.
Unlock data flows. The ability to transfer data across borders is crucial for companies to respond to
customers’ needs, deliver goods and services, manage supply chains, process payments and provide
technical support. However data localization restrictions severely undermine these functions and there isno evidence that they will reduce in the near future. We urge the G7 to remove existing restrictions to thefree flow of data and to refrain from adopting unjustified new ones. Therefore, they should include
provisions on the guarantee of free cross-border data flows in trade agreements with appropriate
safeguards for privacy and security requirements.

Connectivity and Cybersecurity. Notwithstanding the need to ensure the free transmission of data,
security concerns need to be properly addressed since cybersecurity is a major problematic issue for allindustries. With regard to such a complex and sensitive issue, our recommendation to the G7 is to engage
in a regular fact-finding dialogue with business at the occasion of every G7 Summit.