§ 7. Jim Knight (South Dorset)What plans there are to discuss progress on world trade agreements at the April (a) IMF and (b) World Bank meetings. [105156]
§ The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Gordon Brown)I have invited the director general of the World Trade Organisation to address the International Monetary Fund committee on 12 April to discuss the current WTO negotiations on a new trade round and also how we can meet the September deadline for progress on trade.
§ Jim KnightI am sure that my right hon. Friend agrees that it is vital for the poorer countries that good progress is made in world trade talks on issues such as fair trade, generic pharmaceuticals and agricultural reform. Will my right hon. Friend give us his assessment of what damage current international divisions may have done to the prospect of making progress on these important issues?
§ Mr. BrownI am grateful to my hon. Friend for taking an interest in this. There are four areas where the WTO talks are behind schedule: the first is in agriculture, where we await the new European Union proposals; the second is in medicines, where it has been impossible to reach the agreement that was sought; the third is in services; and the fourth is in special treatment for developing countries. It will require an enormous push by all the major countries to reach agreements in Mexico in September.
My hon. Friend raised the particular issue of pharmaceuticals. It is all the more important that pharmaceutical companies and Governments come together to see whether we can reach an agreement under which the poorest countries can enjoy access to medicines that should be available to them at prices that they can afford.
§ Dr. Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park)With all his troubles at home, the Chancellor must be very pleased that there are so many questions on international development today; indeed, it makes one think that there may be a reshuffle in the offing. At these meetings, will he take into account the under-representation of developing countries on all these international bodies, and will he tell the House what he hopes to do to increase their capacity, so that they can have better representation to put their case?
§ Mr. BrownWe have just made a proposal on increased representation for the developing countries in the decision making of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The hon. Lady will be interested to note that it is a British proposal, which is gaining considerable support.
I am sorry that the hon. Lady thinks that it is not important for me to answer these questions. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have their spring meetings on 12 April. The G7 is meeting the day before. The World Trade Organisation talks have been stalling for some time and we need to make progress on debt relief and on the international finance facility. I happen to be the UK representative attending those meetings, and usually the hon. Lady supports us when we raise issues of international development.