G-20 LONDON SUMMIT: EMERGING ECONOMIES FOCAL POINT

The G-20 London summit on April 2, 2009, part of the annual forum of the 20 largest economies that convenes to review the global trade and economic scenario, marked the recognition of the central role that the emerging economies will play in the revival of the global economy.

The financial crisis that gripped the global economy since last year is expected to result in a drop of 9% in global trade in 2009, according to the World Trade Organisation estimates. The developed countries’ exports are set to fall by as much as 10%, while developing countries will see a marginal contraction of 2%-3% in their shipments.

The G-20 shunned protectionism across the board to promote global trade and investment. The forum extended a $1.1 trillion for international credit and additional $250 billion through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of the few decisive steps to revive the global economy. This capital infusion will benefit the emerging economies like India and China, particularly in the services exports. The two countries figure among the top 10 in services exports, with China contributing 3.7% at $137 billion closely followed by India contributing 2.8% at $106 billion of the world’s total in 2008.

G-20 itself is a manifestation of emerging economies with more weightage in the global economic affairs, as compared to the G-8, a group of eight largest industrialized nations. Some assertions, however, such as the regulations to curb tax havens, could negatively impact capital flows into emerging economies.