The Quadrilateral group or the Quad is an informal group which includes the trade ministers of the European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It was first suggested during a private meeting during the 7th G7 summit

7th G7 summit

The 7th G7 Summit was called the Ottawa Summit, and was held in Montebello, Quebec, Canada and nearby Ottawa between July 20 and 21, 1981. The venue for the summit meetings was the Château Montebello....

 in July 1981. Initially, a trilateral group was proposed (excluding Canada) because of tensions between the two North American countries at the time but eventually, the Canadian government successfully lobbied to be included. The European Commission has avoided formalizing the group because of resistance from certain European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 members, particularly France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, who resent their lack of direct involvement.

Quadrilateral Meetings of Trade Ministers

Location	Dates
Key Biscayne, Florida Key Biscayne, Florida Key Biscayne is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States on the island of Key Biscayne. The population was 10,507 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,324.... , USA	15-16 January 1982
Chateau d'Esclimont, France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	12-13 May 1982
Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... , Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...	11 February 1983
Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... , Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...	29 April 1983
London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , UK	16-17 July 1983
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...	26-27 September 1983
Islamorada, Florida Islamorada, Florida Islamorada, a "Village of Islands," is an incorporated village in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It is located on the islands of Tea Table Key, Lower Matecumbe Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, Windley Key and Plantation Key in the Florida Keys.... , USA	2-4 February 1984
Erbach Im Reingau, Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	28-30 June 1984
Kyoto Kyoto is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:... , Japan	9-11 February 1985
Oba, Ontario, Canada	11-14 July 1985
San Diego, California San Diego, California San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round... , USA	16-19 January 1986
Sinta Sinta Sinta is a town and sub-prefecture in the Télimélé Prefecture in the Kindia Region of western-central Guinea.-References:... , Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...	4-7 September 1986
Kashikojima, Japan	24-26 April 1987
Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada	15-17 April 1988
Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,590 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County and one of the largest cities in Central Minnesota... , USA	22-24 June 1988
The Hague The Hague The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam... , Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...	2-4 June 1989
Hakonemachi, Japan	12-14 November 1989
Napa, California Napa, California -History:The name Napa was probably derived from the name given to a southern Nappan village whose people shared the area with elk, deer, grizzlies and cougars for many centuries, according to Napa historian Kami Santiago. At the time of the first recorded exploration into Napa Valley in 1823, the... , USA	2-4 May 1990
St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada	11-13 October 1990
Angers Angers Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins.... , France	12-14 September 1991
Fukushima Fukushima, Fukushima is the capital city of Fukushima Prefecture in the Tōhoku Region of Japan. As of May 2011 the city has an estimated population of 290,064 and an area of 746.43 km².It lies about 250 km north of Tokyo and 80 km south of Sendai.-History:... , Japan	24-26 April 1992
Cambridge, Ontario Cambridge, Ontario Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of... , Canada	16-18 October 1992
Toronto, Ontario, Canada	12-14 May 1993
Tokyo, Japan	23-24 June 1993
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... , USA	9-11 September 1994
Whistler, British Columbia Whistler, British Columbia Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver... , Canada	3-5 May 1995
Ripley Castle, Yorkshire, UK	20-21 October 1995
Kobe Kobe , pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka... , Japan	19-21 April 1996
Seattle, Washington Seattle, Washington Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country... , USA	26-28 September 1996
Toronto, Ontario, Canada	30 April - 2 May 1997
Versailles Versailles Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre... , France	29-30 April 1998
Tokyo, Japan	11-12 May 1999

See also

• Group of 8
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
  The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
  
  
• European Commissioner for Trade
  European Commissioner for Trade
  The European Commissioner for Trade is the member of the European Commission responsible for the European Union's common commercial policy...
  
  
• Minister of International Trade (Canada)
  Minister of International Trade (Canada)
  The Minister of International Trade is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet is the head of the federal government's international trade department and the provisions of treaties such as the North American Free Trade Agreement .The post was first established in 1983 as the Minister...
  
  
• Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (Japan)
  Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (Japan)
  The is the Cabinet of Japan member in charge of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry . The current Minister is Banri Kaieda.-List of Ministers of Economy, Trade and Industry:...
  
  
• Office of the United States Trade Representative
  Office of the United States Trade Representative
  The Office of the United States Trade Representative is the United States government agency responsible for developing and recommending United States trade policy to the president of the United States, conducting trade negotiations at bilateral and multilateral levels, and coordinating trade...