Greg Hands: the best and most sustainable way out of poverty is through trade
Minister of State for
We're at the cusp of an historic opportunity – and an historic challenge.
According to the
But there are still enormous challenges to overcome.
Rapid growth cloaks deep deprivation – for the poor, for rural areas, for women, or for minorities.
We have a duty to help ease that poverty. And the best and most sustainable way out of poverty is through trade.
Trade has built unparalleled prosperity. It propelled
It would be wrong for us to pull up the ladder. The government wants to make sure the benefits of trade are felt by the world's poorest, and we're acting right now to make that happen.
On tariffs, the government has committed to providing, as a minimum, the same level of access for developing countries as the EU, and we're putting legislation through
That is a minimum – we'll also look at ways to improve on the EU's system, by making ours more generous and easy to use.
On trade support, we're beefing up our emerging market capacity and expertise.
I'd like to welcome our recent appointment of the first Trade Commissioner for
Our 50 billion pounds export financing capacity can now help British businesses trade in over 60 currencies – so those in emerging markets can buy British, but pay local.
And – the reason we're here today – the
1.2 billion pounds, to deliver everything from training government finance officers in
From improving public health provision in
Fund programmes are designed to answer stubborn development problems and create business opportunities – growing sectors where the
For example, healthcare is a vital component to any country's development. Healthy populations live longer and are more productive.
Well, we have world-beating life sciences and pharmaceutical industries, anchored by the
And no economy can sustain growth without the right infrastructure. The
Yet a great deal of the infrastructure developing countries will need in 20 years has not yet been built.
This is an opportunity for our world-leading architects, urban planners, construction contractors and energy specialists.
And this applies more broadly – we have a stake in helping emerging countries grow.
Better-run economies have better-run companies, and well-functioning legal systems. Well, British lawyers, accountants and consultants have a worldwide reputation.
Faster-growing economies need finance to fuel that growth – the
Larger economies trade more, in absolute terms - and we're the world's fifth-largest exporter.
And as economies develop they spend more on services – we're the second-largest services exporter.
Better-run economies benefit everyone – more trade for us, more business for you, and a route out of poverty for hundreds of millions overseas.
And the biggest benefits come from freer economies and freer trade.
There is no reason why the plunge in poverty we've seen in recent decades should be a one-off – that's not something we have to accept.
It is by people's own innovation and endeavour that developing countries can be lifted out of poverty.
Free trade means nothing more than letting that endeavour run free.
SOURCE
International trade benefits us all and we should respect its rules
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