§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with her counterparts in the United States since the breakdown of the World Trade Organisation ministerial conference in Cancun about the likely impact of the United States Farm Bill on the(a) economies of, and (b) living standards in, developing countries. [149115]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe Government conducted intensive discussion with the United States officials and Ministers when the US Farm Bill was first introduced in 2002. Since Cancun there has been on-going contact between UK and US officials about all aspects of the WTO Round, including on the question of US domestic subsidies and their potential impact on the livelihoods of producers in developing countries.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will identify the ways in which representatives of developing countries at the World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference at Cancun judged that the transparency of the negotiating process was better than at Seattle and Doha. [149124]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienWider consultations by the Chairman of the General Council in the months leading up to Cancun, daily meetings for all Heads of Delegation and an open structure for the discussion sessions at the ministerial conference in Cancun itself gave considerable opportunity to make views clear. We need to maintain the benefits from these changes of process at future WTO ministerials.