§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what conditions he has set to define the relief of poverty in respect of his 2015 targets arising from trade liberalisation as set out in his Ottawa speech. [26934]
§ Mr. BoatengFull trade liberalisation could lift at least 300 million people out of poverty by 2015. Even diminishing protectionist tariffs in agriculture and in industrial goods and services by 50 per cent. would boost the world's yearly income by nearly 400 billion US dollars, a boost to growth of 1.4 per cent. Developing countries would gain 150 billion US dollars and a greater than average increase in GDP growth.
That is why we strongly welcome the WTO agreement in Doha to launch a new trade round focused on development. And in the next phase we must take forward the agreements to open up trade in agriculture, build the capacity of developing countries to participate more effectively in the negotiations and open up greater access to medicines.
On the other hand developing countries must pursue corruption-free policies for stability, for opening up trade and for creating a favourable environment for investment. In return, developed countries should be prepared to increase assistance to meet the 2015 UN millennium development goals agreed.
Developed countries have the responsibility for ensuring that trade liberalisation is accompanied by social justice, creating conditions under which people in developing countries are enabled to benefit from expanding economic opportunities.
260WTowards this end all developed countries should offer access to all but military products from the least developed countries and, by banning export credit guarantees for unproductive expenditure, discourage and diminish the diversion to arms expenditure of resources needed for education and health.