Leaders from G20 nations on Thursday said they were injecting more than US$5 trillion into the global economy and committed to do “whatever it takes” to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout.
“The virus respects no borders,” they said in a joint statement after an extraordinary G20 leaders’ summit convened virtually amid the outbreak. “We are strongly committed to presenting a united front against this common threat.”
The gathering, chaired by Saudi Arabia, was joined by leaders from member countries and included representatives of international organizations such as the UN. Coordination among G20 countries was instrumental for action to stabilize the global economy during the financial crisis that started in 2008.
Photo: AFP via Palazzo Chigi press office
“We will continue to conduct bold and large-scale fiscal support,” the leaders said. “The magnitude and scope of this response will get the global economy back on its feet and set a strong basis for the protection of jobs and the recovery of growth.”
In a statement after the video call, Indonesian President Joko Widodo referred to two “wars” the world was facing: against the virus and against the weakening of the world economy.
“G20 must actively lead efforts to find anti-virus and COVID-19 drugs,” he said. At the same time, “we must prevent a global economic recession, through coordinated fiscal and monetary policies, and expand and strengthen social safety nets.”
The joint statement made no mention of the oil shock triggered by the price dispute between Saudi Arabia and Russia. The administration of US President Donald Trump is pressing Saudi Arabia to dial back its plan to flood the oil market after crude prices crashed to their lowest levels in almost two decades.
US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo spoke with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on the eve of the conference call in the most direct intervention yet by the US.
With parts of Europe and the US in the grip of the outbreak, governments across the world are desperately trying to acquire and stockpile critical medical supplies such as masks, ventilators and gowns as frontline doctors and nurses face shortages. That is forcing many of the biggest makers to run factories around the clock to meet demand.
In a press release on Thursday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on governments to work together “to create a vaccine as quickly as possible and make it available to anyone who needs it.”
He said the UK was pledging an additional ￡210 million (US$257 million) to that effort.
The G20 leaders also pledged more manufacturing and investment to meet the needs for medical supplies and ensure their availability “at an affordable price, on an equitable basis, where they are most needed and as quickly as possible.”
“We commit to strengthen national, regional and global capacities to respond to potential infectious disease outbreaks by substantially increasing our epidemic preparedness spending,” they said.
The WHO was also asked to cooperate with relevant organizations to assess gaps in pandemic preparedness and make a report in the coming months to a joint meeting of finance and health ministers.
“This initiative will capitalize on existing programs to align priorities in global preparedness and act as a universal, efficient, sustained funding and coordination platform to accelerate the development and delivery of vaccines, diagnostics and treatments,” the statement said.
The G20 highlighted the threats faced by countries in the developing world — especially in Africa and small island nations — whose health systems and economies might struggle to contain the outbreak. It also drew attention to the risks faced by refugees and displaced persons.
“We consider that consolidating Africa’s health defense is a key for the resilience of global health,” the leaders said.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS