G20 Presidency helping India strengthen trade ties: Experts

New Delhi: The G20 Presidency with India is helping New Delhi to strengthen trade ties with member nations and provides an opportunity to attract investments from those countries in sectors like infrastructure, experts say. They said that the G20 (Group of 20) holds a strategic role in securing future global economic growth and prosperity, as its members represent about 85 per cent of the global GDP (Gross Domestic Product), 75 per cent of global trade and two-thirds of the world’s population. Presiding over this multilateral forum is an opportunity for India as it can showcase its strength and achievements for attracting investment and deepen its trade relation with these large economies, the experts added. Fast-tracking negotiations for free trade agreement, ease of doing business, development of modern infrastructure, skilled manpower, large population with growing income are some of the positives which help India to enhance trade realisations with these member countries.

The G20 has 43 members and not 20 countries. These include 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, UK and US) and the European Union (27-member group). Three EU countries -- France, Germany, Italy - are counted among the 19 countries. Trade experts suggested the government to fast-track ongoing negotiations for free trade agreement (FTA) with countries like the UK and EU as it would help India in better market access to these countries as well as facilitate investment. However, they also asked not to use trade platforms to achieve climate aspirations as that could harm progress in both trade and climate discussions. The largest trade block of G20, the EU, will set in motion the carbon border adjustment mechanism from October 1 this year, making exports expensive from countries like India.

“In the first eight months of 2023, the EU introduced five regulations on climate change and trade. The G20 nations should not ignore this elephant in the room and discuss before individual countries rush to the WTO (World Trade Organisation (WTO). This may soon unravel world trade,” think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) Co-Founder Ajay Srivastava said. Shardul S Shroff, Executive Chairman, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, said that India should find a common ground with G20 countries to emerge as a global norm setter for the digital economy and use that global stature to boost IT and IT-enabled services exports. India should position itself as the global norm-setter for various aspects of the digital economy, such as data protection, international contracting, digital assets, and international taxation, as it would help expand India’s footprint in the global services exports market, Shroff said.