June 4, 2020
On June 4, 2020, the Special ASEAN Plus Three (Japan, China and the ROK) Economic Ministers’ Virtual Conference Meeting on COVID-19 Response was held and the Ministers issued an “ASEAN Plus Three Economic Ministers’ Joint Statement on Mitigating the Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
Outline
On June 4 (Thur.), 2020, the Special ASEAN Plus Three (Japan, China and the ROK) Economic Ministers’ Virtual Conferencel Meeting on COVID-19 Responce was held via video conference. As a representative of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Mr. Tanaka Shigehiro, Vice-Minister for International Affairs, attended the meeting on behalf of Mr. Kajiyama Hiroshi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.
At the meeting, the ministers held discussions on cooperation to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 and to recover the economy as well as other issues, as an effort in response to the Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19) held on April 14, 2020, via video conference.
Following the meeting, the ministers issued an “ASEAN Plus Three Economic Ministers’ Joint Statement on Mitigating the Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
Key points of the joint statement
- The ministers reaffirmed the importance of keeping the markets open to strengthen the resiliency and sustainability of regional supply chains;
- They agreed to refrain from taking unnecessary measures that may affect the smooth flow of essential goods such as medicines;
- They affirmed that measures restricting cross-border movement of goods and services will be targeted, proportionate, transparent, temporary, and consistent with the WTO rules;
- They recognized the importance of facilitating essential movement of business people across borders without undermining efforts to prevent the spread of the virus and other actions;
- They underscored the importance of facilitating cross-border transfer of information and data by electronic means as well as to strengthen consumer and business trust in the digital economy and support ongoing negotiations on electronic commerce at the WTO; and
- They will remain committed to the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement in 2020 and working together to resolve India’s outstanding issues, as mandated in the Joint Leaders’ Statement on the RCEP issued in 2019.
