HC Deb 16 July 2002 vol 389 c261W
Tony Baldry

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what she estimates the World Summit on Sustainable Development will do to promote fair trade between developed and developing countries. [69477]

Clare Short

The Government will be pushing for an outcome which is consistent with the Doha Development Agenda. This resulted in the following achievementsAgreement on TRIPS and public health, recognising the need for a flexible interpretation of TRIPS to enable developing countries to protect public health. Action on some 50 measures from the developing countries' implementation agenda from the Uruguay Round. On agriculture, commitment to real progress on market access and action on export subsidies. Continuing negotiations on services, which offer real prospects for developing countries to make substantial benefits through liberalisation and economic growth. Commitment to tackle tariff peaks, high tariffs and tariff escalation as well as non-tariff barriers on non-agricultural products. A commitment to a work programme on trade, debt and finance. Systematic attention throughout the text to the issue of capacity-building. A comprehensive set of commitments on the particular needs of the least-developed countries, including a commitment to the objective of duty and quota free market access plus a commitment to make their accession process faster. A review of Special and Differential Treatment—across all WTO business areas—to strengthen these provisions and make them more precise, operational and effective.