G20 Statement: Tangible progress, but work to do

The worst economic crisis in half a century still holds us in its grip. At the G20 in Cannes, 3-4 November, solid progress was made on major issues such as jobs, taxation and financial reform, though much more needs to be done to restore confidence as we build towards the Mexico presidency in 2012, said OECD Secretary-General.

TAX: G20 countries strengthen international tax co-operation

"Tax co-operation and compliance are of crucial importance for all countries and citizens - and not only in times of a tight fiscal and budgetary environment”, said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría from the Cannes G20 Summit.

TAX: Global Forum delivers concrete results to the Cannes G20 Summit

At a time of stalled economies and a crisis of politics, your collective tax work is a tangible example of countries moving together in a mutually beneficial direction that will help those trying to extricate themselves from the crisis. Governments have signed more than 700 agreements to exchange tax information. And we know these agreements have already yielded €14 billion in additional revenues, to 20 countries, from more than 100 000 tax payers who had hidden assets offshore. 

INVESTMENT: Joint OECD/UNCTAD report to G20 leaders 

This joint OECD/UNCTAD report says that on the whole, G20 members have continued to honour their pledge not to retreat into investment protectionism. The organisations urge G20 leaders to use the forthcoming G-20 Summit to send a strong signal about the need to keep markets open, resist protectionism, and preserve and strengthen the global trading system so that it continues performing this vital function in the future.

FINANCE: Causes of global imbalances

This new report’s findings dispute the popular theory that emerging economies invest heavily in safe assets abroad, which leads to global imbalances, because their own financial sectors are undeveloped. This implies that developing financial markets in emerging countries is unlikely per se to resolve the problem of global imbalances, so other solutions are needed.

FINANCE: G20 finance ministers agree new principles to boost financial consumer protection

The principles developed by the OECD form part of a broader initiative by G20 leaders to strengthen trust and confidence in the financial sector, which is widely recognised to have fallen since the economic crisis. “Without consumer trust and confidence we could jeopardise the basis for global economic recovery and growth,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría.

EMPLOYMENT: OECD and ILO heads call for G20 action

The Heads of the OECD and the International Labour Organization expressed their concern over the seriousness of the jobs crisis at the meeting of G20 Labour and Employment ministers in Paris on 26-27 September. “This is the human face of the crisis,” they said. “Governments cannot ignore it.” New OECD/ILO analysis reveals that twenty million jobs are still missing in the G20 countries to regain the pre-crisis employment rate, and the job shortfall may increase to even 40 million by the end of 2012 if the current low employment growth of 0.8 per cent were to persist over next year.

Latest OECD Employment Outlook

ENERGY: Reforming fossil-fuel subsidies to improve the economy and the environment 

The G20 leaders in 2009 agreed to phase out subsidies that “encourage wasteful consumption, reduce our energy security, impede investment in clean energy sources and undermine efforts to deal with the threat of climate change”. New OECD and IEA data and analysis reveal that governments and taxpayers spent about half a trillion US dollars last year supporting the production and consumption of fossil fuels. Removing inefficient subsidies would raise national revenues and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
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AGRICULTURE: Report to G20 on food price volatility

A new inter-agency report coordinated by the FAO and OECD offers G20 leaders a range of options for mitigating and managing the risks associated with food and agricultural commodity volatility.

“Without decisive action, we risk prolonging record levels of long-term unemployment and having millions more young people enter adulthood without the prospect of meaningful work,” said BIAC Chairman Charles P. Heeter, in a meeting with Labour Ministers from the G20 countries (27/09/2011).

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