HC Deb 20 July 2001 vol 372 cc589-90W
Mr. Nigel Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has for ensuring that an impact assessment of existing trade agreements has taken place before the Government develops its position on the fourth ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Qatar; and if she will make a statement. [5333]

Nigel Griffiths

The previous 'round' of Trade negotiations, the Uruguay Round, has been the subject of a number of prospective assessments based on economic modelling. For instance,A 1993 study by the OECD estimated that the global gains from the liberalisation in industrial products and agriculture to be around $274 billion p.a. by the year 2002, with the EU benefiting by around $71 billion p.a.1 A 1995 study by WTO economists estimated that the agreement on industrial products and agriculture could boost global incomes by up to $214 billion (0.94 per cent. of GDP) p.a. and EU incomes by up to $32 billion (0.48 per cent. of GDP)2. Since the Uruguay Round a number of additional liberalisation agreements have been concluded which promise to bring further economic gains to the world, the EU and the UK. For example, the WTO Telecommunications Agreement came into force in February 1998. According to an estimate by US economists, the agreement could save consumers world-wide more than $150 billion per year by the year 2010 in lower charges, better service and improved technology3.

1 OECD: "Assessing the Effects of the Uruguay Round"—1993

2 J Francois, B MacDonald and H Nordstrom: "The Uruguay Round: a numerically based assessment"

3 Ben Petrazzini: (1996) "Global Telecom Talks: A Trillion Dollar Deal" Institute of International Economics