Work plan 2020-2022: The Inclusive Trade Action Group

Objectives

• Working together to better understand and communicate the positive impact of trade and trade agreements on all segments of society.
• Sharing experiences and best practices in developing inclusive trade provisions (e.g., on women’s economic empowerment, gender equality, Indigenous Peoples, SMEs, labour, and the environment) and promoting their use in bilateral, regional, and multilateral negotiations.
• Building a community of like-minded nations and advancing the principles of inclusive trade together in multilateral fora and among Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) member countries, including establishing an ITAG caucus in APEC, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
• Supporting efforts for a sustainable and inclusive global trade and economic recovery post-COVID-19 pandemic.

Proposed points of engagement

The work plan was updated to reflect circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for increased virtual engagements. Key ITAG priorities defined were:

• ITAG expansion: Identifying opportunities to engage with other potential ITAG members amongst the CPTPP and APEC membership, as well as engaging with other potentially like-minded WTO Members outside CPTPP and APEC.
• Global Trade and Gender Arrangement: Promoting the Arrangement and increasing the number of signatories.
• Timely and strategic implementation of co-operation activities under the Global Trade and Gender Arrangement.
• Trade and Indigenous Peoples and Trade and Climate Change: Consideration of further work to be undertaken, including the possible negotiation of new instruments.
• Three Year Review: Examining the effectiveness of the CPTPP Agreement with respect to sustainable development, gender, Indigenous Peoples, domestic regional economic development, SMEs, labour rights, the environment and climate change.
• WTO 12th Ministerial Conference, June 2022: Opportunity for ITAG Joint Statement and to gain more Participants in the Global Trade and Gender Arrangement.
• APEC 2021: Opportunity for further progress on inclusive trade matters, including gender and Indigenous Peoples.