| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Mr. Eric Martlew (Carlisle): The motion refers to the United States of America, but there is a problem with another north American country. Canada intends to put excessive duties on various products in the near future, and one of them will be the sweet biscuits manufactured in my constituency. There is no justification for the imposition of such duties. Will my hon. Friend take the matter up urgently with the Canadian Government in the hope of achieving a settlement soon? It would be wrong if my constituents and Carrs of Carlisle, a factory with a good reputation, were to suffer because of a trade war in which they have no involvement.
Mr. Battle: I agree with my hon. Friend. As the hon. Member for Eastleigh said, the impact on our constituencies is vital and it is important to resolve these disputes. We hold summits and conversations with Canada around the same sort of issues as those we discuss with the USA relating to the WTO. We shall do our best to ensure that we develop conversations in order to avoid disputes that might discolour our wider relationship at a crucial time for world trade.
Ms Joan Walley (Stoke-on-Trent, North): May I draw my hon. Friend's attention to the ceramics industry?
Particularly high tariffs are applied to catering china exported to north America. During his conversations, will he consider those extra tariffs and whether protectionism is being applied?
Mr. Battle: My hon. Friend makes an important point, although I did not appreciate that ceramics were on the list of items hit by the current disputes. I am more than happy to ask questions about the tariffs. Not all tariff barriers have fallen, and our purpose is to have the WTO develop a system to reduce tariff barriers to ensure fair trade everywhere. I shall be happy to take on board my hon. Friend's remarks and to raise the issue on her behalf.
The transatlantic economic partnership signed last May at the EU-USA summit in London enshrined an agreement for the two sides to develop an early warning system for potential disputes over agriculture, the environment, food safety and biotechnology, which have been sensitive issues recently. That agreement is vital if the EU and the USA are to avoid friction in the world trade arena, given the impact of their relationship on everyone else in the world economy.
Building open markets remains as vital and important today as it was when GATT was first founded. Of course, it is more than evident that protectionist pressures are growing. As the downturn in the global economy continues, it leads to such pressures, as we all know. That increases the urgency of the need to look for sensible ways in which to boost genuine, sustainable economic growth: that, not retreating behind protectionist barriers, is the key to the future.
We should at least thank the hon. Member for Eastleigh for raising this subject for debate. It is a timely opportunity to say something about the need to support the comprehensive round of trade negotiations that we hope will be launched at the WTO ministerial conference in Seattle at the end of the year--I think that it will take place between 30 November and the early days of December.
Yes, we will positively support a comprehensive round at those talks. Seattle will be the third ministerial conference, so let us consider how we have got where we are. The first meeting in Singapore, in December 1996, put in place a work programme on new issues, such as investment, competition, procurement and trade facilitation. The second meeting in Geneva, in May last year, agreed the process for the preparation for Seattle.
We believe that a comprehensive round will allow all countries, including developing countries, to get an overall package to reflect their broader interests too. It will allow us to get arrangements on to a sound, commonly agreed and stable footing. That must be the objective and our Government will work towards that.
Some people have questioned the wisdom of pushing ahead with opening trade at a time of difficulty in the global economy. Trade was not the cause of the south-east Asian crisis and trade would not provide a complete solution, but it can help the world on the road to recovery, and it can help economic and social development.
Most recently, the Uruguay round brought a significant boost to world trade, to jobs and, therefore, to incomes. One of the key lessons of history is that the protectionist response to the global crisis in the 1930s made matters
much worse--it led to a protectionist backlash. There are some signs of growing pressures now, but it is essential that we keep pushing forward the momentum for opening markets and developing open trade policies throughout the globe. That is why the United Kingdom and the European Union have pledged to resist protectionism and, contrary to what the hon. Member for Eastleigh might suggest, to secure that new round of multilateral trade negotiations.
A huge number of subjects are of particular importance to the UK in those negotiations: the need for further tariff reductions, to which my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Mr. Martlew) referred; reducing barriers to trade--for example, unnecessary blockages, such as technical regulations; opening up Government procurement markets in third countries; simplifying import and export procedures; seeking substantial reductions in support and protection for agriculture; deepening and broadening the opening of trading services; establishing an open rules-based framework for international investment; clarifying the interaction between environmental and trade policies; and tackling trade and competition issues. That is a huge agenda and we are keen to press ahead with it.
At the same time, we are also conscious that we are trying to build. I point out to the Liberal Democrats at this time of new politics, when we are working towards a consensus, that trying to achieve that consensus around the table of the WTO is not so easy. Not all the members support a comprehensive round, as I am sure the hon. Member for Eastleigh acknowledges. Many more want to focus on particular market access, rather than the new overall rules. Others stress the need to stick only to those negotiations to which we are already committed--that is, in agriculture and services--and will not shift from there.
Since we have referred to the American position, President Clinton recently signalled support in his state of the union address for a new round. That was a very welcome statement. He said:
It is probably fair to say that the new issues, including the new work on the environment, are likely to be the most difficult in the new round. We accept that. Some developing countries believe that those issues are not yet ready for substantive negotiation. While we need to be realistic about what is achievable in the circumstances, we see value in the inclusion of environmental issues on the agenda. Clearly, there will be much focus on agriculture which, as the hon. Member for Eastleigh said, is important for developing countries, too.
Concerns have been expressed in Geneva about the implementation of existing agreements. Greater and more coherent focus will be needed on technical assistance and capacity building. That is not something only for the WTO; the United Nations conference on trade and development, the International Monetary Fund and the World bank all have parts to play. Decisions in the WTO must be taken by consensus. There is every sign that
developing countries will articulate a clear agenda of their interests, including issues relating to implementation, anti-dumping and open markets in, for example, textiles as well as in agriculture. They will not be reduced to being silent observers. The United Kingdom is doing all that it can to encourage their active participation in detailed negotiations.
We are clear that free trade has never meant, and should not mean, a free-for-all. There is a crucial difference. There is plenty of scope for reflecting concerns about health, social questions and the environment, but a system of international rules must have objective reference points. That is precisely why we need to rely on independent scientific justification, which is crucial. My experience has been that people are resistant to independent scientific advice as well. When they get it, if they do not like it, they refuse to believe it. That is part of the problem of perception.
Sustainable development is crucial. Protecting the environment and maintaining an open, non-discriminatory, equitable multilateral trading system are essential to achieving the objective of sustainable development. There are many effective, internationally recognised measures that aim to protect the global environment. Of course, much more remains to be done, but progress has been made in the past 20 years, with several multilateral environmental agreements with which we can work. Opening trade will help to ensure that resources are used more efficiently, and generate the wealth necessary for sustainable development and environmental improvement. It will also enable the spread of new environmental technologies that will help to tackle the pollution problems that we have inherited. Cleaner technologies will provide the jobs and industries of the future globally.
All Governments must consider their trade and environmental policies together. I cover the industry brief in government and I am determined not to see industry set against the environment as if they are irremediably at odds and mutually exclusive for ever. They can be fitted together, and the best companies recognise that, build environmental practice into their business, and see it as beneficial and profitable to have a sustainable agenda. The two policies can fuse together. If we are to deliver sustainable development internationally, we need to build it into trade relations as well.
Governments have a duty to balance the objectives of protecting the environment and upholding an agreed, multilateral trading system, whether we are negotiating in trade or environmental forums. It is for parties to both new and existing agreements to ensure, individually and collectively, that they do not sign up to conflicting, mutually exclusive requirements. That is the challenge.
My hon. Friend the Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will deal in more detail with some of the points on agriculture and food raised by the Member for Eastleigh. The European Union ban on hormone-treated beef has been in place for more than10 years. In 1998, the WTO found that the ban was inconsistent with its rules because it did not follow from a properly conducted risk assessment. The EU was given a period, which, coincidentally, expires today, to comply with the ruling.
A helpful article in this morning's Financial Times stated:
"I issue a call to the nations of the world to join the US in a new round of global negotiations to expand exports of services, of manufactures, and, most of all, farm products."
We should assent to that aim to try to build together a round that will open up markets internationally and fairly. It is too early to say what sort of package will emerge from the ministerial conference this year. Discussions in Geneva so far have been developing the agenda to get the context right for detailed negotiations.
"US trade officials said yesterday they were determined to exercise their rights in the WTO to retaliate, but were prepared to continue discussing with the EU proposals for a negotiated settlement."
I take heart from that. The article also stated that
"the scale of the possible sanctions was likely to be scaled down and that the measures were unlikely to take effect before early July, leaving another two months in which to seek a settlement of the dispute."
It continued:
"the EU ban to US beef exporters, originally set at $900m, to be cut to between $100m and $300m. That figure could be lowered still further."
In a way, it is fair for the hon. Member for Eastleigh to paint the worst picture and to suggest that there are£1 billion of trade sanctions around the corner. However, we are not yet in that position; negotiations can continue. Furthermore, the US Government have reacted by pointing out that the characterisation of the situation outlined to the European Parliament by the Commission's Vice President, Leon Brittan, was useful and appropriate. I think that that puts matters into context, because some alarmist press comments were made by the Commission, which may explain some of the tone of the current commentary. I should be more interested in trying to work towards a sensible settlement of the dispute.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |