G20 Trade Ministers Condemn Food Weaponization

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) shared G20 trade ministers' statement on the weaponization of food through coercive trade actions.

The statement stated that G20 trade ministers, who met in Milwaukee, USA, on September 30-October 1, discussed their serious and common concerns about governments using food as a weapon by taking targeted actions to slow, stop, block or divert trade in food, agricultural products and agricultural inputs in order to exert pressure to obtain unrelated geopolitical concessions.

It was stated in the statement that the use of food as a weapon threatens the livelihoods of the targeted countries, weakens the functioning of international markets and the global trade system and the trust in them, distorts competition against producers and consumers, and damages relations between countries. It was noted that coercive actions can disrupt certain agricultural and food supply chains, threatening the food security of particularly vulnerable populations and the livelihoods of producers.

The statement stated that we are aware of and concerned about the many ways governments can weaponize food, agricultural products and agricultural inputs through a variety of official or unofficial measures that can affect exports or imports.

In the statement of G20 trade ministers, "We condemn the use of food as a weapon as it poses a significant humanitarian and economic threat." The expression was used.

On the other hand, following the G20 Trade Ministers meeting held this week, the presidential statement prepared by the term president, the USA, was also published.

In the statement, it was stated that at the meeting, trade ministers of the G20 countries discussed the weaponization of food through coercive trade measures, structural overcapacity and production, reform of the Most Favored Nation principle and the elimination of forced labor in global supply chains.