23 July 2016

G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Communiqué

[...] 2.The global economic recovery continues but remains weaker than desirable. Meanwhile, the benefits of growth need to be shared more broadly within and among countries to promote inclusiveness. The global economic environment is challenging and downside risks persist, highlighted by fluctuating commodity prices, and low inflation in many economies. Financial market volatility remains high, and geopolitical conflicts, terrorism, and refugee flows continue to complicate the global economic environment. In addition, the outcome of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU adds to the uncertainty in the global economy. Members of the G20 are well positioned to proactively address the potential economic and financial consequences stemming from the UK referendum. In the future, we hope to see the UK as a close partner of the EU.

　　3.We are taking actions to foster confidence and support growth. In light of recent developments, we reiterate our determination to use all policy tools – monetary, fiscal and structural – individually and collectively to achieve our goal of strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth. Monetary policy will continue to support economic activity and ensure price stability, consistent with central banks’ mandates, but monetary policy alone cannot lead to balanced growth. Underscoring the essential role of structural reforms, we emphasize that our fiscal strategies are equally important to support our common growth objectives. We are using fiscal policy flexibly and making tax policy and public expenditure more growth-friendly, including by prioritizing high-quality investment, while enhancing resilience and ensuring debt as a share of GDP is on a sustainable path. Furthermore, we will continue to explore policy options, tailored to country circumstances, that the G20 countries may undertake as necessary to support growth and respond to potential risks including balance sheet vulnerability. We reiterate that excess volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates can have adverse implications for economic and financial stability. We will consult closely on exchange markets. We reaffirm our previous exchange rate commitments, including that we will refrain from competitive devaluations and we will not target our exchange rates for competitive purposes. We will resist all forms of protectionism. We will carefully calibrate and clearly communicate our macroeconomic and structural policy actions to reduce policy uncertainty, minimize negative spillovers and promote transparency.

　　4.As regards structural reform, we endorse the Enhanced Structural Reform Agenda prepared by the Framework Working Group (FWG), and commend the OECD, the IMF and other relevant international organizations (IOs) for their valuable inputs. We take note that the choice and design of structural reforms are consistent with countries’ economic conditions. Based on the nine priority areas of structural reforms agreed in April, we have developed and agreed upon a set of guiding principles, which will provide high-level and useful guidance to members, while allowing them to account for their specific national circumstances. We have also agreed upon a set of indicators which will be further enhanced over time to help monitor and assess our efforts and progress with structural reforms and challenges. We are committed to implementing and improving over time the Enhanced Structural Reform Agenda, and call on the IOs to provide continuous support. We are making further progress towards the implementation of our growth strategies, as is indicated by the preliminary assessment of the IOs as well as results from our enhanced peer reviews, but much more needs to be done. Swift and full implementation of the growth strategies remains key to support economic growth and the collective growth ambition set by the Brisbane Summit. Furthermore, to strengthen our efforts, we are updating our growth strategies to include new and adjusted macroeconomic and structural policy measures that can provide mutually-supportive benefits to growth. Our updated growth strategies and an accountability report on progress against our growth ambition will be finalized before the Hangzhou Summit. We underscore the role of open trade policies and a strong and secure global trading system in promoting inclusive global economic growth, and we will make further efforts to revitalize global trade and lift investment. We will also strive to reduce excessive imbalances and promote greater inclusiveness in our pursuit of economic growth.

　　5.We recognize that the structural problems, including excess capacity in some industries, exacerbated by a weak global economic recovery and depressed market demand, have caused a negative impact on trade and workers. We recognize that excess capacity in steel and other industries is a global issue which requires collective responses. We also recognize that subsidies and other types of support from governments or government-sponsored institutions can cause market distortions and contribute to global excess capacity and therefore require attention. [...]

　　8.We endorse the recommendations towards further strengthening the international financial architecture (IFA) developed by the IFA Working Group. Building on the ongoing work by relevant IOs, we will continue to improve the analysis and monitoring of capital flows and management of risks stemming from excessive capital flow volatility. We look forward to the IMF’s review of country experiences and emerging issues in handling capital flows by year-end. We note the ongoing work on the review of the OECD Code of Liberalization of Capital Movements. We support work to further strengthen the Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN), with a strong, quota-based and adequately resourced IMF at its center, equipped with a more effective toolkit, and with more effective cooperation between the IMF and Regional Financing Arrangements (RFAs), respecting their mandates. In this respect, we welcome the upcoming CMIM-IMF joint test run and call for further work regarding the IMF’s lending toolkit. We look forward to the completion of the 15th General Review of Quotas, including a new quota formula, by the 2017 Annual Meetings. We reaffirm that any realignment under the 15th review in quota shares is expected to result in increased shares for dynamic economies in line with their relative positions in the world economy, and hence likely in the share of emerging market and developing countries as a whole. We support the WBG to implement its shareholding review according to the agreed roadmap and timeframe, with the objective of achieving equitable voting power over time. We underline the importance of promoting sound and sustainable financing practices and will continue to improve debt restructuring processes. We support the continued effort to incorporate the enhanced contractual clauses into sovereign bonds. We support the Paris Club’s discussion of a range of sovereign debt issues, the ongoing work of the Paris Club, as the principal international forum for restructuring official bilateral debt, towards the broader inclusion of emerging creditors, and welcome the admission of the Republic of Korea to the Paris Club. We welcome China’s regular participation in Paris Club meetings and intention to play a more constructive role, including further discussions on potential membership. We support examination of the broader use of the SDR, such as broader publication of accounts and statistics in the SDR and the potential issuance of SDR-denominated bonds, as a way to enhance resilience. We call for further work by the IOs to support the development of local currency bond markets, including intensifying efforts to support low-income countries. We will extend the IFA Working Group’s mandate into 2017.

　　9.Recent market turbulence and uncertainty have once again highlighted the importance of building an open and resilient financial system. To this end, we remain committed to finalizing remaining critical elements of the regulatory framework and the timely, full and consistent implementation of the agreed financial reforms, including Basel III and the total-loss-absorbing-capacity (TLAC) standard as well as effective cross-border resolution regimes. We reiterate our support for the work by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) to finalize the Basel III framework by the end of 2016, without further significantly increasing overall capital requirements across the banking sector, while promoting a level playing field. We look forward to the BCBS comprehensive quantitative impact study that will inform the final design and calibration of the framework. We will continue to enhance the monitoring of implementation and effects of reforms to ensure their consistency with our overall objectives, including by addressing any material unintended consequences. We look forward to the FSB’s second annual report on the implementation and effects of the financial regulatory reforms to be presented to our Leaders at the Hangzhou Summit. We will continue to address the issue of systemic risk within the insurance sector. We welcome the work towards the development of an Insurance Capital Standard (ICS) for internationally active insurers. We welcome the ongoing joint work by the IMF, FSB and BIS to take stock of international experiences with macroprudential frameworks and tools, to help promote effective macroprudential policies, and look forward to the report to be published ahead of the Hangzhou Summit. We welcome the FSB consultation on proposed policy recommendations to address structural vulnerabilities from asset management activities. We continue to closely monitor, and if necessary, address emerging risks and vulnerabilities in the financial system, including those associated with shadow banking, asset management and other market-based finance. We look forward to the report to the Hangzhou Summit on progress of the FSB-coordinated four-point action plan to address, as appropriate, the decline in correspondent banking services. The G20 looks forward to further efforts to clarify regulatory expectations, as appropriate, including through the consideration in October by the FATF of the guidance on correspondent banking. We call on G20 members, the IMF and WBG to intensify their support for domestic capacity building to help countries improve their compliance with global anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and prudential standards. We encourage members to close the gap in the implementation of the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures and accelerate their actions on over-the-counter derivatives markets reforms. We look forward to the consultation papers under the agreed work plan on central counterparties’ (CCPs) resilience, recovery planning and resolvability to be published ahead of the Hangzhou Summit. We endorse the G20 High-level Principles for Digital Financial Inclusion, the updated version of the G20 Financial Inclusion Indicators, and the implementation framework of the G20 Action Plan on SME Financing, developed by the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI). We encourage countries to consider these principles in devising their broader financial inclusion plans, particularly in the area of digital financial inclusion.

　　10.We welcome the first meeting of the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework on BEPS held in Kyoto, particularly its broad membership which will be a key asset in supporting a timely, consistent and widespread implementation of the G20/OECD BEPS package, as well as in tackling the specific challenges faced by developing countries. We call upon all relevant and interested countries and jurisdictions that have not yet committed to the BEPS package to do so and join the framework on an equal footing. We also welcome the recent progress made on effective and widespread implementation of the internationally agreed standards on tax transparency. We reiterate our call on all relevant countries including all financial centers and jurisdictions which have not yet done so to commit without delay to implementing the standard on automatic exchange of information by 2018 at the latest and to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. We support the Global Forum’s monitoring of the implementation of automatic exchange of information and look forward to its report before the end of the year. We endorse the proposals made by the OECD working with G20 members on the objective criteria to identify non-cooperative jurisdictions with respect to tax transparency. We ask the OECD to report back to us by June 2017 on the progress made by jurisdictions on tax transparency, and on how the Global Forum will manage the country review process in response to supplementary review requests of countries, with a view for the OECD to prepare a list by the July 2017 G20 Leaders’ Summit of those jurisdictions that have not yet sufficiently progressed toward a satisfactory level of implementation of the agreed international standards on tax transparency. Defensive measures will be considered against listed jurisdictions. We encourage countries and IOs to assist developing economies in building their tax capacity and accordingly we acknowledge the establishment of the new Platform for Collaboration on Taxation by the IMF, OECD, UN and WBG, and their recommendations on mechanisms for effective technical assistance in support of tax reforms. We look forward to receiving a progress update by mid-2017. We support the principles of the Addis Tax Initiative. We recognize the significant negative impact of illicit financial flows on our economies and we continue to take forward the work of the G20 on this theme.

　　11.We recognize the important role of tax policies in our broader agenda on strong, sustainable and balanced growth and of a fair and efficient international tax environment in diminishing the conflicts among tax systems. As highlighted in our discussion at the G20 High Level Tax Symposium, we emphasize the effectiveness of tax policy tools in supply-side structural reform for promoting innovation-driven, inclusive growth, as well as the benefits of tax certainty to promote investment and trade. In this regard, we ask the OECD and the IMF to continue working on the issues of pro-growth tax policies and tax certainty.

　　12.We reiterate our call on the FATF and the Global Forum to make initial proposals by our October meeting on ways to improve the implementation of the international standards on transparency, including on the availability of beneficial ownership information of legal persons and legal arrangements, and its international exchange.

　　13.We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the recent terrorist attacks. We reaffirm our solidarity and resolve in the fight against terrorism in all its forms and wherever it occurs. We will tackle all sources, techniques and channels of terrorist financing. We welcome the progress achieved by the FATF in the implementation of its new Consolidated Strategy on Combating Terrorist Financing and call for effective implementation of its operational plan. Swift and effective implementation of FATF standards worldwide is a priority. This calls for strengthening of the traction capacity of the FATF and enhanced effectiveness of the network of FATF and FATF-style regional bodies. We call on the FATF to reflect on ways to progress in those areas by March 2017. [...]

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