Multilateral, rules-based trade needs to be protected: Turkish trade minister

PARIS

The multilateral and rules-based trade system has to be protected, Türkiye’s Trade Minister Omer Bolat said during the ministerial council meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) held in Paris on Wednesday.

Bolat told Anadolu that Türkiye is a founding member of the OECD and the ministerial council meeting is held once a year to bring together trade, foreign affairs, treasury, and finance ministers together.

This year’s meeting focused on the challenges faced by the global economic system and the risks to multilateral international trade, the minister said.

“The main topic of the meeting was the reversal of the free trade in the multilateral system due to countries’ policies harming other countries either through subsidies or via practices shifting from multilateral systems to bilateral agreements, which led to a decrease in foreign direct investments in other countries and contributed to concerns over economic prosperity due to risks to growth,” he said.

Bolat emphasized that the efforts of some countries to gain an edge in global trade through subsidies have to stop, recommending boosting mutual interactions and cooperation between the OECD and the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as facilitating developed and developing countries’ access to the global financial system.

“Many member country representatives already agreed to these recommendations, but what’s missing here is that many countries insist on implementing the wrong things,” he said.

The minister stated that this year’s meeting should “serve as a wake-up call for the majority of the member countries amid worrying developments.”

“With the rise of protectionism and trade wars, this year’s meetings will act as an opportunity for the global economy and world trade to rise again with transparent practices and multilateral, joint decisions—we believe the OECD’s efforts will benefit the global economy,” he added.