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TREASURY
Public Expenditure
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Paul Boateng): The Treasury will publish the 2003–04 "Public Expenditure Provisional Outturn" White Paper on Tuesday 20 July.
The White Paper is an annual report to Parliament on the provisional outturn for public expenditure. It focuses on spending within Departmental expenditure limits (DEL) and annually managed expenditure (AME), including information on individual supply estimates and administration costs limits.
The outturn figures are described as provisional because they may be revised when Department's final accounts are published, usually in the autumn.
A copy of the White Paper will be available in the Libraries of the House and will be accessible on the Treasury website.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Iraq (Export Licence Applications)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Bill Rammell): Following consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry recently approved two licences to export military list goods to Iraq. The arms embargo against Iraq remains in place under United Nations Security Council resolutions 1483 (22 May 2003) and 1546 (8 June 2004). UNSCR 1483 (2003) includes an exception for "arms and related materiel required by the (coalition provisional) authority to serve the purposes of this and other related resolutions".
Accordingly, prior to the hand over of power on 28 June and the coalition provisional authority ceasing to exist, Her Majesty's Government considered it appropriate to grant licences for the export of the military listed goods on these two applications for use by private security companies, one working under contract to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the other working under contract to the coalition provisional authority, the US Department of State and the project management office in Iraq. The licences are consistent with the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. Future applications continue to be assessed on a case by case basis against the UN embargo and consolidated criteria, taking into account the circumstances prevailing at the time.
International Court of Justice
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Bill Rammell):
The Government have amended the United Kingdom's declaration accepting the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice under article 36(2) of the statute of the court. A copy of the revised declaration, set out in a letter dated 5 July 2004 to the United Nations Secretary-General, has been placed in the Library of the House.
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The revised declaration makes two main changes to the former declaration dated 1 January 1969. The first updates from 24 October 1945 to 1 January 1974 the cut-off date for the acceptance of the court's jurisdiction, thus excluding stale claims. The effect is that jurisdiction is not accepted in respect of disputes which arose before 1 January 1974. The second is to broaden the scope of the previous Commonwealth exception, so that jurisdiction is not accepted in respect of any dispute with the Government of any other country which is or has been a Member of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth exception is of long standing and is retained by a number of Commonwealth countries.
Though these changes are of general application, their immediate significance is that they prevent any Commonwealth country from circumventing the present limitations by withdrawing from the Commonwealth and then instituting proceedings against the United Kingdom in respect of an existing dispute. The Government have acted to prevent such a move as we believe it is against the spirit of the existing Commonwealth exception.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Trade and Investment White Paper
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Ms Patricia Hewitt): I am today publishing the White Paper on trade and investment, entitled "Making Globalisation a Force for Good".
This White Paper is being published at a pivotal moment in the history of the international trade agenda. The European Union and the new European Commissioners taking up their posts this autumn will have a vital role in ensuring the benefits of globalisation are delivered in Europe and beyond, notably through the completion of the WTO Doha development agenda.
The White Paper presents a positive vision of globalisation and Britain's approach to trade and the WTO negotiations, to achieving our objectives of boosting prosperity at home and fighting poverty overseas. It explains how countries benefit as much, if not more, from opening their own markets as from persuading others to open theirs.
The White Paper therefore presents a series of challenges to the European Union. In order to thrive in a globalising world, the EU has to redouble its efforts to improve its own competitiveness. At the same time, it needs to look outwards, placing new policies and regulations in a global context. The EU, together with other developed countries, has to reject the mercantilist approach to trade that prizes only exports and inward investment as opposed to international trade and investment as a whole.
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Specifically, it must tackle the continued harmful effects of the common agricultural policy. The EU and other developed countries should commit to eliminate export subsidies, to make further reductions in trade-distorting domestic support and to reduce agricultural tariff peaks towards the maximum levels allowed for non-agricultural products.
The White Paper describes the changing nature of international trade and investment. International trade is moving away from traditional patterns of imports and exports towards a world of global partnerships and joint ventures. Government services to UK companies have to respond to this. I announced in this House on 1 July the new arrangements that we are setting in place for the Export Credits Guarantee Department. The White Paper also sets out the role of UK Trade and Investment—the Government's lead national provider of international trade and investment support for business.
The White Paper sets out how we think international trade and investment can and should work to reduce poverty in the poorest countries. The need to reduce poverty—working towards the millennium development goals—is a key challenge for this Government.
To fight poverty, the EU and other developed countries must tackle the barriers—both tariffs and non-tariff barriers such as excessively burdensome technical regulations—that currently prevent poor countries from selling to us.
The evidence shows that those developing countries who have been more successful in fighting poverty tend to be those who have opened their own markets to international trade. But we have learned that developing countries need to open their markets in a properly sequenced way as part of a broader plan for their economic development and poverty reduction.
In order to benefit from international trade and investment, the poorest countries need to put in place a full range of complementary policies. We need to work with these countries to help them tackle the key challenges: health, education, the transport and communications infrastructure, good governance and effective social protection.
This White Paper has been produced following widespread consultation with interested parties in the UK. We are grateful to everyone who has helped us and we look forward to continuing a dialogue on these issues.
In the meantime, I look forward to working with ministerial colleagues in other countries—both inside and outside the EU—to win the argument against protectionism and mercantilism in international trade. We will take the opportunity of the UK Presidencies of the EU and of the G8 next year to take this forward.
I am confident that this White Paper will contribute to pursuing the UK's objectives in the area of international trade and investment.