This letter was sent to the leaders of all the three main political parties on the eve of the Global Week of Action and ahead of the Wake Up to Trade Justice event in Westminster on 15 April 2005.

Global Week of Action for Trade Justice

We are writing to inform you of the Trade Justice Movement and MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY’s Global Week of Action taking place 10^th-16^th April.

Actions are planned in over 80 countries. Over 100 events will take place throughout the UK, culminating in thousands attending the ‘Wake up to Trade Justice’ event in Westminster, central London, on Friday 15^th April.

The main message of the Trade Justice Movement and MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY during the Global Week of Action is ‘Stop Forced Liberalisation’. The Commission for Africa recently echoed this call, strongly arguing that "forcing poor countries to liberalise through trade agreements is the wrong approach to achieving growth and poverty reduction in Africa, and elsewhere". [i]

The UK government has recently announced a changed approach to the EU’s Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with ACP countries and to its own policy on aid conditionality, including in relation to trade. We warmly welcome these developments, and urge all UK political parties to ensure that these changes are implemented in all relevant institutions.

During the Global Week of Action we are calling on all UK political parties to make public statements setting out their position on stopping forced liberalisation at the WTO.

For Trade Justice Movement member organisations, stopping forced liberalisation at the WTO will require the following changes:

In non-agricultural market access (NAMA) negotiations 

• agree that developing countries should have a separate formula for tariff reduction under NAMA, to secure the principle of ‘less than full reciprocity’ at the heart of the negotiations on manufacturing trade

• agree that developing countries should not be required to take part in the sectoral initiative which aims to eliminate or harmonise tariffs in selected sectors

In services negotiations (GATS)

• for water to be kept out of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and for the EU to withdraw its requests of other countries to liberalise their water sectors in WTO negotiations

• for the EU to make a statement in support of the right of all developing countries to abstain from making either initial or further offers in the services negotiations

In agriculture negotiations

• for developing countries to have the right to self-select an unrestricted number of agricultural ‘special products’ which will be exempt from liberalisation, allowing them to protect domestic agricultural producers on the grounds of food security, livelihood security and sustainable rural development

• for developing countries to have access to a special safeguard mechanism for all agricultural products, in order to address the harmful effects of market volatility

• agree that developing countries should have a separate formula for tariff reduction in the agriculture negotiations

 2005 represents a unique chance for the UK to put in place the trade policy changes needed to reduce poverty, and thereby to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We hope all UK political parties will seize this chance.

Glen Tarman

Coordinator, Trade Justice Movement

on behalf of the Trade Justice Movement and MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY

Sent to Tony Blair, Prime Minister; Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer; Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry; Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development; Douglas Alexander, Minister for Trade; Gareth Thomas, Minister for International Development; Jack Straw, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs;

Michael Howard, Conservative Party Leader, Conservatives spokespeople James Arbuthnot (Trade) and Alan Duncan (International Development);

Charles Kennedy, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Liberal Democrat spokespeople Malcom Bruce (Trade) and Tom Brake (International Development)

Elfyn Llwyd, Plaid Cymru Leader,
Plaid Cymru spokesperson Hywel Williams (International Development)
Alex Salmond, Scottish National Party Leader
Scottish National Party spokesperson Angus Robertson (Defence and International Relations)