The Importance of the B20 in an Era of Regionalization

As published by the B20

As the world reverts into regional trading blocks, the role and convening power of the B20 has never been more important. When business leaders gather in São Paulo, we will do so in the context of a volatile geo-economic environment which offers too few opportunities to discuss global issues of common concern ranging from economic security to the energy transition.

The Business Council of Canada (BCC), which I have the privilege of leading, is proud of the role it has played in the evolution of the B20 dating back to its initial inception. The BCC was an early advocate in favour of the idea of creating a consensus forum on global economic and security issues which was far broader than the G7 and in which the private sector could play a central role.

This year, as in previous years, the B20 gathering will afford business leaders the chance to offer practical, pragmatic solutions borne from our unique experiences and expertise. Our deliberations will help inform discussions between our respective governments at next month’s G20 summit, whose participants include a number of national leaders attending for the first time since elected.

Our B20 host, Brazil’s National Confederation of Industry (CNI), has done an excellent job of pulling together a comprehensive set of events and materials to ensure the success of our joint efforts. Canadian participants look forward to sharing our perspective on such issues as supply chain resilience, promoting economic growth, and increasing productivity through innovation.

Canada is fortunate to have free trade agreements with many G20 member states such as our North American partners the United States and Mexico; with France, Italy, and Germany through our trade agreement with the European Union; with Japan and Australia through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership; and our bilateral pact with South Korea.

These agreements form the trade architecture which positions Canada at the heart of increasingly integrated value and supply chain networks. As seismic events – from wars and the pandemic to extreme weather – have tested the resilience of those supply chains, Canadian business leaders have proven themselves to be dependable economic partners to help feed and fuel the world.

Energy and food security depend on efficient and resilient global value chains. All trading nations must therefore enhance our trade enabling infrastructure, a priority which Canadian business leaders share with many economic partners. This includes enacting domestic permitting reforms which allow for the construction of export infrastructure to speed and safeguard the free flow of goods.

We are also being called upon to protect value and supply chains from various threats, everything from cyberattacks and sabotage to economic coercion and the weaponization of trade. Economic security is national security. Without cooperation between the public and private sectors, trade and investment will be disrupted to the detriment of people and families from across our countries.

This emerging reality speaks to how the global trading order has changed. Countries must now assess their bilateral and multilateral relationships with other nations by identifying where they can cooperate and collaborate with each other, where they must compete with each other, and, yes, where they need to challenge each other. We call this an ‘eyes wide open’ approach.

October’s B20 meetings will allow us to help make those assessments. It is in our interest, then, to have frank and candid conversations about the challenges and opportunities of our time without shying away from uncomfortable or inconvenient topics. Global trade and investment decisions are best made when based on honest appraisals of the facts. The stakes are extremely high.

There has never been a time in which it has been more important to have certainty, stability, and predictability in our trade relationships and regulatory environments. The countries that get that right – amid growing geopolitical uncertainty – stand to benefit from the business investments which are desperately needed to deliver increased productivity and prosperity for all our peoples.

(Goldy Hyder attends the B20 in Brazil along with Matthew Holmes of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the BCC’s Shauna Hemingway. October 23-24, 2024)