Despite repeated pledges to enable trade as a driver of growth and job creation, G20 economies are failing to demonstrate global leadership on trade openness according to the ICC’s Open Markets Index 2017 published today.

  • G20 countries failing to demonstrate global leadership on trade
  • Canada the only G20 country in top 20 open markets globally
  • Singapore, Luxembourg and Hong Kong the world’s “most open” markets

Simultaneously to the commencement of the 2017 G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, the ICC launched its commissioned report, the Open Markets Index (OMI) today. The report, which scores 75 countries on a scale of one to six on four key factors (observed trade openness, trade policy, openness to foreign direct investment, and trade-enabling infrastructure) aims to represent a balances and reliable measurement of an economy’s openness to trade. In doing so, the OMI also monitors whether governments have followed through on longstanding G20 commitments to boost global trade flows.

In its 4th edition, the OMI report shows that G20 nations rank below the global standard in terms of openness to trade, with only Canada placing among the world’s top 20 open markets. Singapore, Luxembourg and Hong Kong SAR head the 2017 rankings for the fourth successive edition of the report, far outstripping major economies such as the United States in terms of trade openness. In fact, 18 of the G20 economies score only average or below average in terms of their overall openness to trade, with the two lowest-scoring G20 economies being Brazil and Argentina.

In responds to this report, ICC Secretary General John Danilovich commented that, “ICC has steadfastly called on the G20 to maintain a strong stance against protectionism since the global financial crisis. There must be no return to 1930’s style beggar thy neighbour policies – and the private sector must not shy away from driving this point home”.

To read the full report, click here.