§ Lord Beaumont of Whitleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will be represented at the World Trade Organisation's High Level Symposium on Trade and the Environment on 15 and 16 March 1999; and if so, what changes to present arrangements they will suggest in order to safeguard the environment and animal welfare. [HL1288]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Simon of Highbury)The Government will be represented at the WTO Symposium on Trade and Environment by senior officials from DTI, DETR, FCO and DFID. We expect the event to be an opportunity to work with other WTO members and representatives of non-governmental bodies, including business, to identify constructive ways ahead on trade and environment.
We hope that the event will progress the trade and environment debate by helping to:
- clarify the relationship between trade rules and international environmental law;
- identify "win-win" options where trade liberalisation, environment and development objectives can all the advanced together;
- encourage further dialogue between all interested communities, in particular highlighting the importance of transparency at both the national and international level.
We are continuing to examine the issue of animal welfare in the context of the EU's approach to a comprehensive new WTO Round. But the High Level Symposium already has a wide area to cover, and it would not be constructive to press animal welfare concerns there. Many developing countries are suspicious of the EU's motives in the trade/environment debate, and we want to focus the event on exploring their concerns in that area.