§ Mr. EdwardsTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if the Government will make it their policy to support France's call for a moratorium on export subsidies during the current round of World Trade Organisation negotiations. [124318]
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§ Hilary BennThe UK has supported the French Africa initiative to the G8, which recognises the damaging effects of agricultural subsidies on African economies. Discussions around the French initiative during the recent G8 summit at Evian were also important to reiterate the importance of finding solutions to the commodities' problem and to improve the way in which preferential access into developed countries' markets operates for the benefit of developing countries.
In the WTO, the UK is committed to reaching agreements on long-term agricultural trade rules, which are fair and non-discriminatory. These multilateral rules should aim to create the stable conditions necessary for the private sector to make long-term investment in developing countries' agriculture. In this context, the draft agricultural trade framework agreement (put forward by Stuart Harbinson) proposes that developed countries phase out all export subsidies within 10 years.
§ Mr. EdwardsTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what proposals her Department has for providing greater opportunities for poor countries competing for access to heavily protected markets in the developed world. [124319]
§ Hilary BennThe Government believe that the current round of trade negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will provide the best opportunity for improving developing country access to protected agricultural and non-agricultural markets in the developed world. Along with commitments to improve market access, the negotiations also aim to tackle developed countries' high levels of trade-distorting domestic support and use of export subsidies, which harm developing countries.
At the fifth Ministerial meeting of the WTO in Cancun this September, Ministers will assess progress towards achieving the 'development' agenda set out in Doha in November 2001. This includes an assessment of the merits of already tabled proposals on market access. Specifically, the EU is pushing for an overall average tariff reduction of 36 per cent. in the agriculture negotiations, and a reduction of tariffs on nonagricultural goods to a maximum of 15 per cent. The EU is also pushing for all developed countries to fulfil their commitment to grant duty and quota free access for all products excluding arms originating in least developed countries.
To ensure that trade rules benefit all individual developing countries, any new rules will have to consider the particular needs of countries in terms of development, food security and poverty reduction. For example, the current draft of WTO agricultural trade rules includes a number of special and differential provisions for developing countries, such as lower (subsidy and tariff) reduction commitments and longer implementation periods. Some provisions also aim to protect developing countries' food security by naming "special products" which would be subject to less market opening.
The UK is a strong advocate of trade reform and a supporter of special and differential rules for developing countries. The recently agreed package of CAP reform is 12W important in delinking subsidies from production which will help reduce the unfair competition against third parties, particularly developing countries.
§ Mr. EdwardsTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if she will make a statement on the consultations held between her Department and campaigners for fair trade before the fifth World Trade Organisation ministerial conference in Cancun. [124320]
§ Hilary BennAs part of its continuing dialogue and consultation with UK non-governmental organisation and campaigners working on trade and development issues, DFID held its biannual open day to discuss these issues on 26 June 2003 and I spent an hour with campaigners to listen to their concerns about the expansion of the WTO negotiating agenda to include new issues such as investment. I also answered questions on the Government's position on various trade issues in the run up to Cancun. In addition to these formal consultations, DFID officials are in regular contact with campaigners to discuss the details of current policies and proposals.
§ Mr. EdwardsTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if the Government will press its partners in the developed world to commit to quota and tariff-free access to European and US markets for all imports from low-income countries in Africa. [124321]
§ Hilary BennThe UK was one of the strongest advocates of the EU Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative, which allows duty and quota-free access into the EU for imports from Least Developed Countries.
The UK is also very active within the G8 in finding ways to implement the Africa Action Plan, which include commitments to improve all existing preferential schemes, so as to ensure that these effectively benefit the targeted countries.
In the WTO, the UK supports the Commission's proposal that 50 per cent of imports from developing countries into the developed countries should be duty free—including those from African low-income countries.
§ Mr. EdwardsTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what proposals the Government has to revive negotiations over the implementation of the Doha Agreements to improve the access to markets for developing countries. [124322]
§ Hilary BennThe Government are working for faster progress in the Doha round, especially on the issues that matter most to developing countries: agriculture, Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and public health, and special and differential treatment. For example, we are in dialogue with the US and the pharmaceutical companies in order to find a way forwards on TRIPS and public health.
The agreed package of reforms to the EU's Common Agricultural Policy is an important step towards making global trade in agriculture fairer for developing countries. In the context of the WTO negotiations, now 13W that the EU has moved on agriculture, others must be prepared to follow suit. We hope that the CAP deal will inject new momentum into the Doha round.
The Government are committed to doing what we can to ensure the Cancun Ministerial delivers real benefits to developing countries and helps keep the round to the 1 January 2005 deadline for negotiations to be concluded.