§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answer of 26 November 2001,Official Report, column 590W, on world trade rules, if she will set out the areas of (a) agreement and (b) disagreement she has had with the collective proposals put forward by NGOs in respect of world trade rules. [19876]
§ Clare ShortWe agree that trade rules must help to eliminate poverty, and that poor countries need a fair and effective rules-based international trading system. We agree on the need for capacity building, and for an approach that recognises more explicitly that WTO members are at different stages of development. However, we disagree with some NGOs on some WTO issues. For example, we believe that the recent campaigning against the GATS has been very misleading. Our position on all these issues is set out in a series of Background Briefing Notes on Trade and Development which I am placing in the Library.