Finance ministers of the Group of Eight economic powers will meet in southern Italy on June 12-13 in the latest of series of high level summits on efforts to haul the world economy out of recession.
A meeting of the wider G20 group of industrialised and emerging market countries in April pledged more than $1 trillion in cash for the International Monetary Fund and other initiatives.
It also promised to give major emerging economies far more say in international policy-making and enable regulators to supervise hedge funds and credit ratings agencies, as well as crackdown on tax havens.
Here is a summary of progress reported so far on pledges the leaders made in London in April.
* FISCAL MEASURES TO BOOST DEMAND RAPIDLY
- IMF says discretionary fiscal stimulus at G20 level amounts to around the desired 2.0 percent of GDP in 2009 and 1.5 percent in 2010. Sources say the IMF will tell euro zone leaders on Monday that governments have done enough this year, without ruling out the need for more stimulus later.
- Debate over need for bigger effort -- led earlier by U.S. and resisted by Europe -- has gone off the boil for now as focus shifts to dealing with toxic assets on bank books
-- G20 leaders communique of April 2 says total fiscal expansion will amount to $5 trillion by end of 2010, raising output by 4 percent.
* MONETARY POLICY STEPS AS APPROPRIATE - Major central banks have slashed interest rates, some of them to close to zero.
-- U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of England also resorted to quantitative easing steps to inject money into the economy, such as buying debt. The European Central Bank, regarded by many as more reticent because of a narrower focus on inflation, has announced 60 billion euros worth of a different form of such easing in its plan to buy covered bonds.
-- Central banks have cooperated in setting up swap lines to help each other's banks and those in emerging market economies get the foreign currency they need to avert crises
* NO RAISING OF TRADE BARRIERS OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS
* RESISTING PROTECTIONISM AND PROMOTING TRADE
- The G20 leaders in April repeated their pledge of November to refrain from raising new barriers to trade, imposing new export restrictions or taking measures to stimulate exports inconsistent with international trade rules.
- Eighteen of the G20 economies were named in a World Trade Organisation (WTO) report in March on measures taken in recent months that could be seen as restricting trade. [ID:nLR981233]
- A few weeks after the London G20 summit, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said nearly half the G20 members were restricting trade. [ID:nN23333834]
- The United States was widely criticised in January for including a "Buy American" clause as a condition for some of the government's support packages, although President Barack Obama persuaded Congress to water it down.
- The European Union revived subsidies in January on exports of dairy produce; Russia announced plans to introduce new duties on imported cars; and India raised import tariffs on steel.
- The United States announced subsidies in May on some dairy exports, to counter the earlier EU move, provoking outrage from other farm exporters. [ID:nN22390696] [ID:nN27285438]
- The outbreak of H1N1 influenza, known as swine flu, was used by many countries to block imports of pork from affected countries such as the United States, although health officials said there was no danger of catching the disease from meat.
- The WTO reported a big jump in 2008 in anti-dumping investigations -- probes into unfairly priced imports. [ID:nL71001475]
- On the plus side, the United States and EU settled a long-standing row over hormone-treated beef, and said they would try to resolve other trade disputes amicably. [ID:nL648798]
- The April summit also promised to aim for a deal in the WTO's long-running Doha round, but did not set a deadline.
- Since then the United States has repeated its long-standing view that big emerging countries like China, India and Brazil must do more to open their markets.
- A U.S. promise to look for new ways to reach a deal unsettled some partners by suggesting Washington would bypass efforts to reach an overall deal with all WTO members on the formulas for cutting tariffs and subsidies and move directly to negotiating market access with individual countries.
- In contrast to recent years, a meeting of ministers to push for a Doha deal before the European summer looks unlikely. But there are plenty of international gatherings where ministers can discuss Doha on the sidelines. [ID:nLQ943229]
- The G20 in April also promised at least $250 billion over the next two years to support trade finance.
- So far there are no reports of that money being mobilised. But last week the head of Sweden's export credit agency said there were signs exporters were finding it easier to obtain funding. [ID:nLT1005251]
* REGULATORY OVERHAUL
-- Individual jurisdictions now drafting rules to put G20 regulatory pledges from April into action.
-- Hedge funds: the G20 agreed hedge funds above a certain size should be authorised and obliged to report data to supervisors. The EU adopting a draft law to this effect.
-- Derivatives: the G20 called for greater standardisation of over-the-counter credit derivatives and central clearing of contracts. This is underway in EU. United States planning to go step further and push more trading onto an exchange.
-- Accounting: G20 wants reduction in credit crunch fallout from accounting rules by end 2009. International Accounting Standards Board is fast tracking revision of its fair value rule, with key parts in force by deadline.
-- Securitisation: G20 wants consideration of banks being asked to retain some of the securitised products they sell by 2010. EU has adopted a law mandating retention of 5 percent.
-- Liquidity buffers: G20 wants global framework for stronger liquidity buffers at banks by 2010. Britain set to introduce new regime from October.
-- Credit rating agencies: G20 wants them registered and supervised by end of 2009. EU has adopted a law mandating registration and direct supervision.
-- Supervision: G20 called for supervision of systemic risk at local and international levels. EU has proposed a new systemic risk council hosted by European Central Bank. Federal Reserve likely to play similar core role in new U.S. set up.
-- Colleges of supervisors: G20 wants remaining colleges set up by June. Many of them already in place.
-- Pay: G20 endorsed principles devised to stop bonus schemes in banks from encouraging too much short-term risk taking to take effect for 2009 bonus round.
* REMAIN COMMITTED TO COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE
- Will the G8 meeting commit to extra fiscal spending on green projects?
Global greenhouse gas emissions may fall in 2009 because of recession, but analysts, think-tanks and green groups under-score that will be a temporary decline -- as seen in the 1930s depression. They want a "green recovery", but the G20 meeting in London in April added very little support except vague wording for extra fiscal spending on low-carbon projects such as energy efficiency, electric cars and renewable energy.
- Will the United States, others harden their climate change stance?
U.N. negotiators are meeting in Bonn, Germany, from June 1-12 as part of marathon two-year talks on a new U.N. climate pact meant to be agreed by December in Copenhagen.
The United States has come under recent criticism including from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for a climate bill perceived by many as too weak. It looks unlikely the bill will win Senate approval by the end of 2009 -- which may make it more difficult for the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases to commit to binding targets at the U.N. climate meet in Copenhagen in December.
Other developed countries including Japan and Russia haven't yet announced mid-term targets to cut greenhouse gases.
Developing nations accuse the rich of failing to promise enough new clean energy technology or aid to help them adapt to impacts of warming such as floods or rising seas. (Reporting by Reuters G20 bureaus; Editing by Patrick Graham)
