he UK will join the biggest ever conference on trade this week,
joining 163 other members of the World Trade Organization
(WTO).
International Trade Secretary will attend the WTO Ministerial Conference
in Argentina, the final one the UK will attend as a member of the
EU.
UK’s trade objectives
During the conference the government will call for an open and
inclusive trading system, prioritising progress on digital trade,
services and support for SMEs, as well as helping
developing countries benefit from trade.
As the UK moves onto trade discussions with the EU, it will
continue its work at the WTO as it sets its own
independent trade policy.
As the UK prepares to leave the EU it will play a leading role in
the WTO,
championing trade to be more open and accessible.
At the conference the UK will push for agreements to make it
easier for businesses to export digital services and information
without costly customs duties and make domestic regulations in
other countries more transparent for SMEs. Agreements at the
last WTO conference in 2015 led
to zero tariffs on £6 billion of annual UK technology exports.
International Trade Secretary will also support a joint
declaration on women’s economic empowerment, agreeing to promote
gender inclusive trade initiatives directed at improving women’s
access to trading opportunities. Research has found that closing
the global gender gap could boost the global economy
by $12 trillion by 2025.
International Trade Secretary said:
As we leave the EU, we will set out an independent trade policy
which spreads the benefits of trade among our own businesses
and consumers, as well as the world’s poorest. As a founding
member of the WTO, we are committed to a
rules-based trading system and I’ll be making the case for that
this week.
The case for global open and inclusive trade has never been
stronger and as an international economic department, we remain
a firm supporter of the WTO and will be one of
the world’s strongest advocates for further trade
liberalisation and modernisation.
Trade and developing countries
The UK will also set out its future role as a world-leading
supporter of free trade, as Dr Fox and Trade Minister host meetings with African and
Commonwealth trade ministers, to promote a free and fair global
trade policy which supports developing countries to trade their
way to prosperity.
This will be a central focus when the UK hosts the 52
Commonwealth Heads of Government in London next April.
Trade supporting UK business
Agreements made at the WTO have a real impact on
British businesses and consumers. Past agreements have helped
spread free trade in services (the UK’s largest export), enforce
companies’ intellectual property rights worldwide and reduce
customs burdens.
The latest major agreement, secured after the
last WTO conference in 2015,
removed tariffs on £1 trillion worth of trade in IT products like
computer games consoles, worth £6 billion in UK exports.
The UK has worked hard to push for future WTO agreement on issues
like supporting digital trade and creating more transparency for
domestic regulation in member countries. UK digital exports are
already worth £50 billion a year and Dr Fox will address global
business leaders at the summit on the benefits that digital trade
liberalisation can bring to developed and developing countries.
Notes to Editors
- the UK is currently represented at the World Trade
Organisation through the EU. However, once it leaves the EU it
will become an independent member in its own right, able to
negotiate according to its own interests
- according to the WTO, workers at export-focused
companies in Western Europe earn 10 to 20% more than the average
wage in their country
- the next WTO summit will take place
in 2019, after the UK has left the EU. This year’s summit is the
biggest ever, after Afghanistan joined the WTO in 2016
- at the last WTO Ministerial Conference
in Nairobi in 2015, members concluded an agreement to ban export
subsidies and similar protectionist measures, as well as an
agreement to update the Information Technology
Agreement (ITA-II)
- the ITA-II was the largest tariff elimination agreement since
the creation of the WTO, resulting in zero tariffs
on £1 trillion of global trade in IT equipment and guaranteeing
that no tariffs are paid on £6 billion of British technology
exports
