HC Deb 11 December 2003 vol 415 cc1182-4
5. Kali Mountford (Come Valley) (Lab)

What action she has taken to make progress with the Doha development agenda. [143323]

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Ms Patricia Hewitt)

I have been working closely with colleagues across Government, in the rest of the European Union and in the rest of the World Trade Organisation to get renewed momentum behind the Doha development round following the setback in Cancun. All countries stand to gain from a successful Doha round, but the poorest countries stand to gain the most.

Kali Mountford

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Following on from the last question and my right hon. Friend's answer, is it not the case that sophisticated, developed western nations have a great deal to gain from good trading relationships that allow poorer nations to develop new wealth? To that end, Europe, being a sophisticated economy, has perhaps the most to gain. Will my right hon. Friend join me in urging Pascal Lamy to reconsider whether to hold talks following Doha, and show the flexibility and leadership that is needed to get the talks back on track?

Ms Hewitt

I strongly agree with my hon. Friend. Indeed, at the recent informal Council of European Trade Ministers, I strongly made the point that the EU needs to show real leadership if we are to get the Doha talks back on track. For various reasons, the other key members and groupings in the WTO are not in a position to do that. We need to do that in the EU, and I am glad to say that among both existing member states and accession states there was strong support for that position.

Mr. Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield) (Con)

Does the Secretary of State accept that many of us believe that the Government deserve credit for their work in promoting free trade, which enriches nations? However, was not an opportunity missed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting to help to revitalise the Doha development agenda? Will she look again at the Conservative proposal for an advocacy fund, which would help developing countries to secure access to quality legal and economic advice on those important issues?

Ms Hewitt

I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his new post on the Front Bench. No opportunity was missed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. Indeed, as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister reported to the House a few days ago, the Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed in strong language on the need to reinject momentum into the Doha round. Given the range of countries and economies that the Commonwealth represents, that was hugely important. I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman, however, about the advocacy fund. The Government have invested very substantially indeed in building the capacity of developing countries to argue their position within the WTO. Indeed, we saw some of the fruits of that investment at the Cancun conference. An advocacy fund would undermine the process of capacity building, which developing countries have made it clear they want.

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