G20 ministers issue joint statement on trade, digital economy

TOKYO -- Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 economies on Sunday issued a joint statement in the Japanese city of Fukuoka after a two-day meeting on trade and digital economy.

The statement said, "global growth appears to be stabilizing and is generally projected to pick up moderately later this year and into 2020, However, growth remains low and risks remain tilted to the downside."

"Most importantly, trade and geopolitical tensions have intensified. We will continue to address these risks, and stand ready to take further action," the statement said.

The finance chiefs also discussed new tax rules on global IT giants, which make huge profits through cross-border data transfers, as well as the impact of aging populations on the economy.

They agreed to reform global corporate tax rules on internet giants. "We welcome the recent progress on addressing the tax challenges arising from digitalization and endorse the ambitious work program," the statement said.

"We will redouble our efforts for a consensus-based solution with a final report by 2020," it added.

Meanwhile, the ministers reconfirmed their commitment to refraining from competitive currency devaluations in order to gain an unfair trade advantage.

They also pledged to increase their efforts to combat money laundering and funding of terrorist groups through the use of virtual assets and enhance regulations on cryptocurrency trading.

The agreement by the finance chiefs will be reported to their leaders at the G20 summit scheduled for June 28-29 in Osaka.