The B20 is deeply concerned about current anti-globalization sentiments, which can be witnessed in many countries around the world.
Increasingly, communities are voicing strong opposition to trade liberalization and international investment. We need to take these concerns seriously and support communities during times of change and disruption. At the same time, seemingly easy solutions risk having long-term negative consequences for business, workers, and consumers. We urge governments to resist the temptation to resort to protectionist measures such as trade barriers or investment restrictions.
Trade promotes prosperity worldwide. Between 1990 and 2014, world trade increased about fivefold and global per capita income grew by a factor of 2.5. This had a very real and positive effect on people’s lives: hundreds of millions of people have been moved out of poverty and seen their living standards and incomes improve. This has been particularly evident in regions that have proactively integrated into the world economy such as East and Southeast Asia.
Prosperity is the result of exchange – of ideas, goods, services, and finance. The advantages of trade and investment are manifold: People can learn from each other both in business and beyond. Production becomes more efficient through specialization and economies of scale. Furthermore, the opening of markets strengthens competition. Both benefit consumers, as their choice of diverse and high quality goods and services increases, while becoming available at lower prices.
Increased openness benefits many aspects of economies and societies. More opportunities for exchange mean lower production costs, less resource consumption for production as well as technology and knowledge transfer. Gains from trade can contribute to meet major challenges of our time: migration flows, climate change, and global health risks. Globalization and sustainability are not mutually exclusive but rather mutually reinforcing.
However, globalization is also accompanied by major challenges. We are acutely aware that despite the overall benefits of trade and investment flows, anti-globalization sentiments have been growing. An increasing number of communities feel they are on the losing end of greater competition. More and more people find it hard to adapt to a rapidly changing world. Business and governments must work together to deal with these concerns and manage the transition.
First, this requires greater transparency and more tangible communication on both the benefits of globalization and the drawbacks it entails. Governments and businesses need to jointly ensure that trade and investment are not merely free but also fair. We need to jointly strengthen our efforts to improve education and lifelong learning to help people seize new opportunities in a changing world. Social protection systems, which ensure a safety net for people having lost employment, active labor market policies, which support people getting back to work, and a strong social partnership can help to make economic growth more inclusive. This should provide the basis for independence and individual fulfilment across the globe, for people of all backgrounds and educational experiences.
To tackle these challenges, there are no easy solutions. Globalization has brought new opportunities, but it has not made the world simpler. Even if the answers are sometimes difficult, one thing is clear: the challenges of globalization cannot be solved within national borders. The G20 is an important forum for international economic cooperation. It represents about two thirds of the global population, across all levels of development, and more than three quarters of global GDP.
Given its role, the G20 is the right forum to ensure that people around the world can continue to benefit from open markets, while shaping globalization in a way that offers fair opportunities to countries, companies, and citizens. The B20 stands ready to assist the G20 in its efforts.
Signatories
Timothy Adams
Co-Chair B20 Financing Growth & Infrastructure Taskforce
CEO & President Institute of International Finance
Mary Andringa
Co-Chair B20 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Cross-thematic Group
Chair of the Board Vermeer Corporation
Loïc Armand
Co-Chair B20 Trade & Investment Taskforce
President L’Oréal France, President Commission Europe MEDEF
Oliver Bäte
Chair B20 Financing Growth & Infrastructure Taskforce
CEO Allianz SE
Sabine Bendiek
Co-Chair B20 Digitalization Taskforce
CEO Microsoft Germany
Kurt Bock
Chair B20 Energy, Climate & Resource Efficiency Taskforce
CEO BASF SE
Gerhard F. Braun
Chair B20 Employment & Education Taskforce
Vice-President Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA)
Wolfgang Büchele
Co-Chair B20 Energy, Climate & Resource Efficiency Taskforce
CEO Linde AG
Andrey Bugrov
Co-Chair B20 Responsible Business Conduct & Anti-Corruption Cross-thematic Group
Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, Senior Vice-President MMC NORILSK NICKEL
Hans-Paul Bürkner
Co-Chair B20 Digitalization Taskforce
Chairman Boston Consulting Group
John Cryan
Co-Chair B20 Financing Growth & Infrastructure Taskforce
CEO Deutsche Bank AG
Elmar Degenhart
Co-Chair B20 Energy, Climate & Resource Efficiency Taskforce
CEO Continental AG
John W.H. Denton
Co-Chair B20 Financing Growth & Infrastructure Taskforce
Partner & CEO Corrs Chambers Westgarth, First Vice-Chairman International Chamber of Commerce
Xabier Etxeberria
Co-Chair B20 Energy, Climate & Resource Efficiency Taskforce
CEO Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica
Joanne Farrell
Co-Chair B20 Energy, Climate & Resource Efficiency Taskforce
Group Executive Health, Safety, and Environment and Managing Director Australia Rio Tinto
Daniel Funes de Rioja
Co-Chair B20 Employment & Education Taskforce
President International Organization of Employers
José Manuel González-Páramo
Co-Chair B20 Financing Growth & Infrastructure Taskforce
Member of the Executive Board BBVA S.A.
Jürgen Heraeus
B20 Chair
Klaus Helmrich
Chair B20 Digitalization Taskforce
Member of the Managing Board Siemens AG
Timotheus Höttges
Co-Chair B20 Digitalization Taskforce
CEO Deutsche Telekom AG
David Iakobachvili
Co-Chair B20 Employment & Education Taskforce
President Orion Heritage Co. Ltd.
Ju Weimin
Co-Chair B20 Financing Growth & Infrastructure Taskforce
Executive Vice-President China Investment Corporation
Bertram Kawlath
Co-Chair B20 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Cross-thematic Group
Managing Partner Schubert & Salzer GmbH
Erol Kiresepi
Co-Chair B20 Employment & Education Taskforce
Chairman & CEO Santa Farma Pharmaceuticals
Jean Lemierre
Co-Chair B20 Financing Growth & Infrastructure Taskforce
Chairman of the Board of Directors BNP Paribas Group
Monique Leroux
Co-Chair B20 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Cross-thematic Group
President International Co-operative Alliance, Chair of the Board Investissement Québec
Jack Ma
Co-Chair B20 Trade & Investment Taskforce
Executive Chairman Alibaba Group
Lynette Magasa
Co-Chair B20 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Cross-thematic Group
CEO Boniswa Corporate Solutions
Jamal Malaikah
Co-Chair B20 Trade & Investment Taskforce
President & COO NATPET
Jorge Mandelbaum
Co-Chair B20 Responsible Business Conduct & Anti-Corruption Cross-thematic Group
President CIPPEC
Emma Marcegaglia
Chair B20 Trade & Investment Taskforce
Chair of the Board Eni S.p.A., President BusinessEurope
Mthunzi Mdwaba
Co-Chair B20 Employment & Education Taskforce
Regional Vice-President (Africa) International Organization of Employers
Yogendra Kumar Modi
Co-Chair B20 Employment & Education Taskforce
Executive Chairman Great Eastern Energy Corporation Ltd.
Klaus Moosmayer
Chair B20 Responsible Business Conduct & Anti-Corruption Cross-thematic Group
Anti-Corruption Chair BIAC, Chief Compliance Officer Siemens AG
Alexey Mordashov
Co-Chair B20 Trade & Investment Taskforce
Chairman of the Board of Directors Severstal Group
Sunil Bharti Mittal
Co-Chair B20 Trade & Investment Taskforce
Chairman Bharti Enterprises, Chairman International Chamber of Commerce
Pierre Nanterme
Co-Chair B20 Digitalization Taskforce
Chairman & CEO Accenture
Peder Holk Nielsen
Co-Chair B20 Energy, Climate & Resource Efficiency Taskforce
CEO & President Novozymes A/S
André Oliveira
Co-Chair B20 Responsible Business Conduct & Anti-Corruption Cross-thematic Group
Legal Director BASF South America
Dany Qian
Co-Chair B20 Energy, Climate & Resource Efficiency Taskforce
Vice-President JinkoSolar
Peter Robinson
Co-Chair B20 Employment & Education Taskforce
President & CEO United States Council for International Business
Klaus Rosenfeld
Co-Chair B20 Digitalization Taskforce
CEO Schaeffler AG
Francesco Starace
Co-Chair B20 Energy, Climate & Resource Efficiency Taskforce
CEO & General Manager Enel Group
Rudolf Staudigl
Chair B20 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Cross-thematic Group
CEO & President Wacker Chemie AG
Rajeev Suri
Co-Chair B20 Digitalization Taskforce
CEO & President NOKIA
Diane Wang
Co-Chair B20 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Cross-thematic Group
CEO DHgate.com
Axel Weber
Co-Chair B20 Financing Growth & Infrastructure Taskforce
Chairman of the Board of Directors UBS Group AG
Zhang Lei
Co-Chair B20 Employment & Education Taskforce
CEO Hillhouse Capital Management Ltd.