MP 'S PLEDGE TO POOREST COUNTRIES
Published 10 Jan 2012 09:30
CENTRAL Ayrshire MP Brian Donohoe has supported an initiative to help the poorest countries trade out of poverty.
The 'Trade out of Poverty' campaign has been backed by the Trade Out of Poverty All-Party Parliamentary Group, who work in tangent with the charity. They are dedicated to helping end poverty by raising awareness of the importance of trade as a route out of poverty, and researching ways of enabling poor countries to develop through trade.
MPs propose to issue the following statement in the name of parliamentarians from across Europe and all parts of the political spectrum:
"We the undersigned call on the governments of the developed world:
not to abandon the Development aims of the Doha Round even if the Round cannot be brought to a successful conclusion,
to recognise that:
though aid and debt relief can alleviate poverty, the only sustainable route out of poverty is through trade,
that the poorest countries of the world account for 20% of the world's population but less than 2% of world trade,
that their industries represent no threat to our economies but if we exclude their exports they cannot hope to grow,
that if the least developed countries are enabled to grow through exporting to us they will import more from us.
to take the following steps without waiting for other countries to follow:
to open their markets unconditionally to duty free quota free access to exports from the least developed countries (without demanding reciprocity),
to simplify trade rules to let developing countries share in world trade
to end rich country export and domestic subsidies which hit poor countries' trade
to help reduce tariffs between the poorest countries
to support investment in roads, ports and commercial infrastructure on which trade depends"
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