§ Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domerasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will ask that the exhaustion of natural resources is placed on the list of exceptions that can apply in placing a limitation on trade under the General Agreement in Trade and Services (GATS). [HL3104]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe Government have no such intention. The exhaustion of natural resources is one of the exceptions in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, as natural resources are by definition goods. During the Uruguay Round, negotiators concluded that a similar exception would not be relevant in the GATS.