On Friday, the U.S. and five allies condemned economic coercion in trade practices in a joint proclamation that appeared to target China.
Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand issued the declaration with the U.S., stating that “trade-related economic coercion and non-market-oriented policies and practices” undermined the multilateral trading system and “harms relations between countries.”
Last month, the Group of Seven leaders committed to a new campaign to oppose economic coercion and pledged to ensure that any players attempting to weaponize economic dependence would fail and suffer consequences.
America, Britain, Japan, and Canada are G7 members.
The countries were concerned about “pervasive subsidization,” state-owned enterprise anti-competitive behaviors, forced technology transfer, and government meddling in corporate decision-making.
After Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy, China banned Lithuanian imports, according to a U.S. Trade Representative official who spoke to reporters about the joint declaration.
Last year, China, which claims Taiwan, banned Lithuanian beef, dairy, and beer imports.
Beijing denounced the G7’s economic coercion declaration in May, claiming the U.S. was “pushing hard to weave an anti-China net in the Western world.”
The U.S. and its five allies cited forced labor concerns in their Friday statement.
We also worry about forced labor in global supply chains, including state-sponsored labor. “All forms of forced labor are gross human rights abuses and economic issues, and it is a moral imperative to end them,” they stated.
Comment Template