G7 ministers vow to close ranks on export controls, thwart tech ‘coercion’
G7 trade ministers have vowed greater cooperation on export controls for cutting-edge technologies to stop their diversion into military use, a move largely aimed at China amid an intensifying tech-war between Beijing and Washington.
‘We reaffirm that export controls are a fundamental policy tool to address the challenges posed by the diversion of technology critical to military applications as well as for other activities that threaten global, regional, and national security,’ the G7 trade ministers said in a statement, 4 April, that did not mention China by name in this context.
‘We reiterate that strong enforcement to counter evasion of export controls is an essential element and we will continue to cooperate on this issue,’ said the ministers of the G7, which includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and European Union.
The trade ministers met online ahead of the 49th G7 summit to be held in Hiroshima, Japan from May 19-21.
They said: ‘We affirm the importance of cooperation on export controls on critical and emerging technologies such as microelectronics and cyber surveillance systems to address the misuse of such technologies by malicious actors and inappropriate transfers of such technologies through research activities.’
Japan has joined the United States and its allies in the tech war against China. Recently, when Japan announced a tightening of export controls on the technology that goes into making semiconductors, it was clearly understood as a move against denying hi-tech to China. Beijing has vowed to retaliate if Japan goes ahead with tightening exports of advanced technology, which Tokyo views as economic coercion.
Japan’s ministry of trade and economy said that Tokyo ‘would like to substantiate what the G7 can do to deter economic coercion and to mitigate damage caused. It is important to demonstrate that the G7 intends to work to jointly address such coercion.’
The G7 statement reflected those concerns.
‘We express serious concern with economic coercion that interferes with legitimate choices of another government,’ the ministers’ statement said, again without mentioning China directly.
They vowed to enhance cooperation and strengthen coordination inside the G7 and with ‘likeminded partners beyond the G7 to increase our collective preparedness, resilience and deterrence to economic coercion.
‘We will also collectively explore responses, as appropriate, to counter coercive economic measures and to mitigate their harm,’ the ministers said, vowing collaboration and concrete measures to confront ‘all forms of forced technology transfer.’
