International Trade Committee launches inquiry on Trade with Developing Countries

The International Trade Committee launches a new inquiry examining the Government’s approach to trade with developing countries.

• Inquiry: Trade with developing countries.
• International Trade Committee

With developing nations representing two-thirds of the membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Committee will explore whether the Government has an appropriate trade strategy in place regarding those countries.

The UK currently grants preferential trade terms to some developing

countries under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) scheme, inherited from the EU. This means that developing countries can trade certain goods with the UK without tariffs, subject to meeting certain conditions.

The Government has announced its intention to replace the GSP with a new UK-specific Developing Countries Trading Scheme in 2022. The Committee will investigate how this scheme will work in practice, and what the implications of the change will be for developing countries, as well as UK and international businesses and the public.

The Committee will explore the potential impact on developing countries of the UK’s trade agreements with developed countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, as well as the role of the WTO and other multilateral forums in relation to trade with the developing world.

The Committee will also investigate the possible renegotiation of the UK’s current Economic Partnership Agreements with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, which were rolled over from EU agreements.

Chair's comment

Commenting on the inquiry launch, Angus Brendan MacNeil MP, Chair of the International Trade Committee, said:

“Despite developing countries making up two-thirds of the membership of the World Trade Organization, the Government’s trade strategy focuses overwhelmingly on trade with high-income countries.

“Trade has an important part to play in promoting development objectives, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As a Committee, we’re setting out to explore how the Government can best assist and work with developing countries, through preferential trade terms, trade agreements and working in international forums, such as the WTO.

“Importantly, we will also look at how the Government can avoid potential harm to developing countries arising from trade agreements with other developed countries.

“We look forward to hearing from businesses, the public, civil society groups, academics and other stakeholders on this important topic.”

Further information

• Inquiry: UK export finance
• International Trade Committee

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