G20 UPDATE E-NEWSLETTER Issue #17 - October 2013
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subscribeasdf aklsd jflksdj to the flksdjnewsletter flsdkj flksdj df f d f d fd fdfsssflsdjfldsjf lkdsj(click flksdj fklsdjhere) flksdj flkdsjf lksdjf lksdfj G20 UPDATE E-NEWSLETTER Issue #17 - October 2013 2012 2013 2014 CC BY-SA 2.0 (kurt) CC BY-SA 2.0 (LHOON) Reflections on the Summit Must Read In “Investment in the In “Building on mixed In “The G20 St. In “Reflections from the --Insights from the Future: Preliminary success – from St Petersburg Summit – 2013 Russian G20 BRICS results of Russia’s G20 Petersburg 2013 to Bubbles, Casinos and Summit,” Michael --News from “Down Presidency,” Brisbane 2014,” Nancy Inactivity,” Sameer Switow, Global Council of Under” O. Buklemishev, Associate Waites, Head of Policy Dossani, Advocacy the Global Call to Action --New Think Tank professor at the Economics Research & Government Coordinator, Reshaping Against Poverty (GCAP), Publications Department of Moscow Relations, World Vision Global Power, Action Aid reviews highlights of the State University and Australia, provides a view International describes G20 Summit as they relate member of the Expert of the Russian G20 Summit-related issues, to: international Council for the Russian G20 Summit and the transition such as the currency development, remittances, Presidency, provides an in- to the Australian crises and tax reform. infrastructure, gender, and depth report of the G20’s Presidency. tax avoidance. strengths, weaknesses, and tensions in promoting economic recovery. Pages 3-5 Pages 6-8 Pages 9-11 Pages 12-14 Pages 8 | 14 | 15 a UPDATE Introduction Highlights of the Russian G20 Summit Introduction G20 Nancy Alexander, Heinrich Böll Foundation - North America At the September 2013 G20 Summit Arguably, the Summit’s main Buklemishev, the U.S. and others are in St. Petersburg, Leaders faced breakthrough relates to its making monetary policy in a “go it conflicts relating to the Syrian crisis endorsement of an Action Plan to alone” mode, flaunting the G20 and decelerating global growth and, change tax rules in order to stop pledges to work in a collaborative particularly, the role of the monetary transnational corporations (TNCs) fashion. He underscores the policies of advanced countries, from shifting their profits to low- or breathtaking cost of recent monetary especially the U.S., in destabilizing no-tax jurisdictions and, instead, policies for developing countries developing country´s economies. require them to pay taxes to the where the value of national countries where they do business. currencies relative to the U.S. dollar Meanwhile, having reached its five Yet, pressure on the G20 is needed to has been plunging. year anniversary, the G20 Summit strengthen and implement these and released a vision statement other actions, as the newly-elected Finally, Buklemishev describes the congratulating itself for its Australian Prime Minister Tony future G20 policy agenda and ways achievements as the “premier forum Abbott takes over the G20 Presidency Russia will continue to provide on international cooperation”, but on December 1, 2013. Upon taking leadership on this agenda as it failing to acknowledge its deficits: a) office, Abbott’s opening salvos assumes the G8 Presidency in the susceptibility of the global included throwing Indonesian January 2014. economy to another financial crisis; refugees out of the country, cutting b) the interdependence of crises the foreign aid budget, moving the aid In “Building on mixed success – from relating to finance, climate, and agency into the foreign office, and St Petersburg 2013 to Brisbane society; and c) the near-exclusion of vowing to abolish the country’s poorly 2014,” Nancy Waites, (Head of non-member countries in designing functioning Emission Trading System. Policy Research & Government policies that deeply affect their Relations, World Vision Australia) future. (See box, “St. Petersburg New to the G20? emphasizes some misfortunes of the Accountability Report on G20 Russian Summit relating to civil Development Commitments, p. 2.) society representation and exclusion To find out more about the from dialogues with officials. Still, Ironically, while crafting the vision G20’s history, the power Waites emphasizes the G20’s statement calling for deeper dynamics and the issues the momentum on issues championed by engagement with outside groups, group addresses, click on the civil society: combating tax including civil society, Leaders link below. avoidance; tackling inequality through ignored the Russian government’s INTRODUCTION TO THE G20 inclusive growth; and creating jobs, repression of domestic civil society particularly for the most vulnerable. and shunned the civil society presence at the Summit. Only In “Investment in the Future: Waites comments on the St business and labor were invited to the Preliminary results of Russia’s G20 Petersburg Development Outlook, Leaders’ meeting with “social Presidency,” O. Buklemishev including its five core priorities: food partners”; civil society was excluded. (Associate professor at the security, financial inclusion and Economics Department of Moscow remittances, infrastructure, human It is no surprise that the Summit’s State University and member of the resource development, and domestic “outcome documents” are more Expert Council for Russian G20 resource mobilization. reflective of the recommendations of Presidency) provides an in-depth the transnational corporations (TNCs) perspective not only of Summit Finally, she notes that Australian in the Business 20 than those of the outcomes, but also the economic national elections on September 7th Civil 20 (C20) or even the Labor 20 challenges and tensions with which made it impossible for the Prime (L20). On the eve of the Summit, the G20 is wrestling. Minister to attend the Summit. The civil society’s Counter-Summit Australian Foreign Minister attended, delivered a strong Final Declaration He reminds us that, since the 2012 as did the Chair of the new Civil 20 denouncing the capture of Mexican Summit, the economic Steering Committee, Tim Costello, governments by TNCs which causes seesaw has tipped in favor of many CEO of World Vision. systematic violations of the rights of developed countries and against many people and the sustainability of developing countries – some of which In “The G20 St. Petersburg Summit nature. are experiencing signs of the onset of – Bubbles, Casinos and Inactivity,” recession. Moreover, according to 1 UPDATE Sameer Dossani, Advocacy against the US dollar over the past In “Reflections from the 2013 Coordinator of Action Aid year. In an integrated global market, Russian G20 Summit,” Michael International’s Reshaping Global falling currency values mean rising Switow of the Global Council of the Introduction G20 Power Program, highlights the fact prices; in some countries, food, fuel Global Call to Action Against Poverty that, while the G20 is fixated on and other essential items are (GCAP) reviews highlights of the G20 growth, it is relatively ineffectual in becoming even more expensive. Summit as they relate to: dealing with root causes of the international development, financial crisis (e.g., “too big to fail” On the bright side, Dossani says that remittances, infrastructure, gender, institutions; monetary dilemmas; and the G20’s tax reforms offer a “once- and tax avoidance. He also recounts corporate tax dodging). With regard in-a-lifetime” opportunity to tackle how civil society got its messages to monetary dilemmas, Dossani notes tax havens and transfer pricing across to a media fixated on Syria. that currency markets in South schemes that are kept in place by a Africa, Brazil, India, Turkey and complex network of treaties backed Indonesia seem to be stabilizing after up by armies of lawyers. losing as much as 25% of their value St. Petersburg Accountability Report on G20 Development Commitments This 2013 Accountability Report represents the The report includes a color-coded chart “Snapshot first accountability exercise of the G20 of Implementation of G20 Development Development Working Group (DWG) relative to Commitments” that ranks the G20’s performance. the 67 commitments originating from the Seoul Of the 67 commitments, only one is “stalled”; it Development Action Plan relates to assessing “how (DAP) and Leaders’ best to integrate Declarations. environmental safeguards in a cost-efficient In terms of inclusion of the manner” in infrastructure primary “beneficiaries” of development. the DAP -- low-income In some cases, the fact countries (LICs) -- the that commitments are report states that only either completed or on- “Thirteen non-G20 track may be an countries have participated indication of low in DWG meetings since the ambition. For instance, DWG’s inception in 2010” work on inclusive green and only a few of the 13 growth is “on track,” but were LICs. According to how meaningful is it? the report, the LICS want Support for social better communication with protection floors is on- the G20 as well as track, but it’s not clear collaboration with regard to whether any countries are new areas of importance to adopting them. Work on them, such as small state reducing the cost of debt, climate change, remittances is “on-track,” financial and economic but the cost has not been stability; global imbalances, reduced. Moreover, little natural resource Source G20 Accountability Report information is in the management and financial regulation. public domain about pilot projects or plans that are complete, such as the “action plan on water, food and agriculture.” 2 INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE: Preliminary UPDATE