§ Mr. AlexanderTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans the Government have to encourage other developed nations to lift trade barriers and quotas to help developing countries compete in the export market. [115921]
§ Clare ShortThe Government have pressed the EU—which represents all member states in WTO negotiations—to seek, in the next Round of multilateral trade negotiations in the WTO, reduction of the barriers to agricultural and non-agricultural trade. We are also strongly committed to provide duty free access for essentially all products from the Least Developed Countries by 2005. We are pressing the Commission to bring forward proposals to fulfil this commitment and to exempt as few products as possible. Thereafter, we will press for all remaining barriers on imports from the Least Developed Countries to be removed as pledged by the Prime Minister in his speech at Mansion House on 22 November. We are urging other developed countries to match this commitment.