On Monday, February 23, 2026, the first ministerial meeting of the Trade Track under the French G7 Presidency was held.
Bringing together the Minister Delegate to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in charge of Foreign Trade and Attractiveness, his counterparts from Germany, Canada, the United States, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Commissioner for Trade, this meeting marked the official launch of the Trade Track’s work for 2026.
In line with the priorities of the French G7 Presidency, the discussions aimed to ensure sustainable and inclusive global growth through the reduction of global imbalances and the reform of the international partnership system.
To make international trade more inclusive and balanced, ministers discussed the need to address industrial overcapacity and to counter unfair practices.
To make international trade more stable, they worked on strengthening the resilience of value chains and modernizing the multilateral trading system. Securing supply chains for critical minerals and metals was identified as a key issue for this ministerial track.
To make international trade more sustainable, ministers focused on improving coordination on small parcel flows and promoting safer and more sustainable e-commerce. The economic and environmental implications of small parcel deliveries will be an important concern for the Trade Track during the French G7 Presidency.
All of these discussions contribute to the preparation of the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which will take place in Yaoundé from March 26 to 29, 2026.
This first ministerial meeting under the French G7 Presidency thus laid the foundations for strengthened cooperation among partners on trade-related issues. The ministers of this track will meet again in Paris on May 5 and 6, 2026, in preparation for the Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held in Evian from June 15 to 17, 2026.