Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on the future of the Doha round; and if he will make a statement. [112722]

Norman Lamb MP; Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State: Concluding the Doha round would have delivered a huge boost to global trade and growth and we were very disappointed that it has not been possible to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion. The coalition Government will continue to work with the EU to push for agreement on those elements of the round on which there has been good progress, particularly trade facilitation (removing obstacles to the movement of goods across borders), which would deliver significant benefits to all and particularly to developing countries. We will also continue to press for streamlining of the accession process to the World Trade Organisation for least developed countries.

The coalition Government is firmly committed to open markets and resisting protectionism. The Prime Minister has called for innovative approaches to achieving the trade liberalisation the world needs to drive future growth, through multilateral and bilateral routes and through coalitions of the willing. We support efforts in Geneva to open plurilateral negotiations on liberalising trade in services and we are pressing for early progress on EU bilateral negotiations with Singapore, Canada and India; and for the launching of trade negotiations with Japan and the US. We are determined to ensure that the interests of poor countries remain front and centre as we consider future options for liberalising trade. We will also continue to press for further strengthening of the role of the World Trade Organisation as our main bulwark against protectionism and the guardian of the global rules based system.