‘As the trade and development agendas become more closely aligned, it is vital that poverty reduction and the Sustainable Development Goals drive UK trade policy and programmes. Given its strong track record in spending UK Aid effectively, we urge continued DFID oversight in this area, to ensure that aid is spent in accordance with existing rules, and with these goals front and centre. Supporting developing countries to build their capacity to negotiate on trade deals without prescribing an agenda, and listening to the priorities of the poorest countries in forums like the WTO, should be top priorities for the UK government.’
‘At Fairtrade, our passion is to see trade working for developing countries and for the people producing the food that we eat here in the UK, who are too often exploited through global supply chains. Whilst trade can be a tool for lifting people out of poverty, too often we see that workers in developing countries continue to get a raw deal, in some cases remaining in extreme poverty, despite their involvement in lucrative global markets. Cocoa is a key example, where the UK chocolate market is worth £4bn, but where the average Ivorian cocoa farmer receives just 74p a day. This is why it’s so important for UK policy to go beyond a focus on boosting trade overall, to address how trade is conducted and who gains from that trade.’