7 CONCLUSION
106. The focus on fair trade should not distract
from efforts to change the way in which the international trading
system operates through the WTO. We have made recommendations
to the Government about this in our reports on the WTO and the
Doha Development Agenda and on EU development and trade policies.[183]
These recommendations still stand and we continue to hope for
a favourable and pro-development outcome to the Round. However
in the absence of a development agreement in the WTO, and given
that the impact of any changes agreed in the WTO will take some
time to take effect, fair trade offers another means of assisting
poor farmers to access international markets. This objective should
be a Government priority.
107. We accept that there is no single answer to
making trade work for the poorest and that only a range of solutions
will help. We expect the Government to continue to seek new and
innovative ways of helping poor producers access international
markets. We would particularly like to see a greater pro-poor
focus in the Government's approach to trade and development built
on a process of lesson-learning from various funding initiatives.
Fair trade has a growing market, in the UK, in other EU member
states, and potentially in some developing countries. The potential
to help more disadvantaged producers is there and could, with
some vision, be harnessed. Fair trade organisations have an important
role in this regard, but will need assistance and leadership from
donors, including DFID, as well as from the private sector.
108. Consumers have already shown that they are interested
in development and increasingly in the ethics of production. The
Government must lead the way in making information easily available
to consumers. We are also encouraged by the leading role of some
retailers in going beyond minimum standards and urge those lagging
behind to follow suit.
183 International Development Committee, Third Report
of Session 2005-06, The WTO Hong Kong Ministerial and the Doha
Development Agenda, HC 730, and Fifth Report of Session 2006-07,
EU Development and Trade Policies: An update, HC 271. Back
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