Getting Industrial Policies Right: Business Consults with OECD Ministerial Leadership

A strong delegation of business leaders from our global business network led by our Chair Rick Johnston met in Helsinki for the annual consultation with the OECD's leadership ahead of the 2026 Ministerial Council Meeting chaired by Finland. Discussions involved Ministers from the Government of Finland, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen and the Minister of Economic Affairs Sakari Puisto, and OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, to discuss our priorities on this year’s theme "Getting Industrial Policies Right for Open Markets, Growth, and Prosperity".

The consultation jointly organised with TUAC covered key issues to be addressed this year, including skills and innovation policy for the green and digital transformations, the enabling state and the role of industrial policy, trade, investment and responsible business conduct. Our speakers underlined key priorities including the need for policy and industrial strategies to advance competitiveness, productivity and simplification at the foundation. Getting industrial policy “right” requires careful design and clear principles for market integrity and openness, and ensuring that industrial support measures are designed in a targeted, transparent, and temporary manner, to support resilience and overall competitiveness while avoiding long-term distortions. Continued dialogue, and ensuring that people have the necessary skills to navigate transitions including ongoing digital transformation of labour markets is also essential. We look forward to continued engagement in this year’s process and the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, which will tale place on 3-4 June in Paris. We appreciate the continued engagement of our National Member Organisation, EK: Confederation of Finnish Enterprises, in this year's Ministerial Council Meeting process.