Small states will be worst hit by protectionism, says Commonwealth

Trade protectionist policies in times of economic downturn will hit small developing countries worst, Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith has warned.

Speaking at an international conference to mark the start of the first-ever World Trade Week UK in London on 8 June 2009, Mr Smith emphasised that open trade remains the most powerful means of creating jobs, and fighting global poverty, especially for small states.

“The Commonwealth is deeply concerned by the effects of escalating trade protectionist policies that a number of countries are adopting, since these affect the majority of our member states,” Mr Smith said.

He added: “Thirty-two out of 53 of our member countries are small states for whom access to markets for their bananas, coffee, sugar, fish and other commodities is the only sure way of keeping jobs and livelihoods. Protectionism will hurt them most.”

Mr Smith also said it was important that the international community assists poor countries to be able to build capacity to take advantage of the trade agreements they are negotiating and going into - including Economic Partnership Agreements between the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, as well as the conclusion of a development-oriented Doha trade round.

He said one of the ways was through the emphasis on aid for trade.

Others speakers on the day included the UK’s Business Secretary, Peter Mandelson; Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development; Minister of State Gareth Thomas; Peter Sutherland, chairman of BP and Goldman Sachs International; Paul Krugerman, a professor of economics and international relations at Princeton University and 2008 Nobel Prize winner for Economics; and Patricia Francis, the executive director of International Trade Center.

Opening the conference, Lord Mandelson underlined the United Kingdom's commitment to keep global trade flowing and announced that the UK is co-financing a new independent anti-protectionism watchdog. Global Trade Alert (http://www.globaltradealert.org/) will unite a worldwide network of think tanks to provide governments with independent analysis of trade-distorting policies. It will produce evidence of the damage protectionist policies are doing and advise on the least protectionist ways to provide support and stability to economies through the downturn.