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Open letter on Trade Policy by Rt Hon Ian McCartney MP, Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs - September 2006

Since I last wrote to set out the Government’s approach towards trade policy, the negotiations on the Doha Development Agenda have been suspended. This is very disappointing, but it does not mean that the Round has failed.  We hope the negotiations can be restarted at the earliest opportunity, and the UK Government will work within the EU and with other WTO members to achieve this.

As Pascal Lamy and Commissioner Mandelson have said, the differences between the positions of WTO members do not represent an insurmountable barrier to an agreement. We urge all those involved in the negotiations to show the commitment and flexibility needed to reach agreement. All WTO members will lose if this opportunity is missed, and developing countries, including the poorest countries, will be the biggest losers from a failure to reach agreement which could both stimulate global economic growth and  lift millions out of poverty. Failure would also be a serious blow to the credibility of the multilateral trading system, and raise the risk of a significant upsurge in protectionism.

The UK Government has been consistently committed to achieving an ambitious, pro-development outcome to the negotiations taking every opportunity to press for this – within the EU and with other WTO members – and will continue to do everything it can to drive the talks forward and try to reach agreement.

I am keen to hear views on this, and other trade policy issues, at the next Trade Policy Consultative Forum, scheduled to meet in November.  You can read more about the Forum on the DTI website link below: