Minister wants to scrap import taxes on green goods

Move would boost manufacture and installation of low-carbon products such as wind turbines

Import taxes on “green goods” such as water-saving devices and wind turbines should be scrapped, the minister for trade and development has said.

Speaking at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Gareth Thomas said the move would encourage the widespread use of environmentally friendly low-carbon products.

The move would make wind turbines cheaper to import

At present, import taxes can be as high as 27%, but Thomas argued that low-carbon production is the most cost-effective way to produce energy and could help to reduce poverty in some of the world's poorest countries, as well as allowing people to work, trade and live in a more environmentally friendly way.

Thomas said: “Low-carbon technology has huge untapped potential in many developing countries and could offer massive environmental and financial benefits.

“For too long, the opportunities for green growth in developing countries have been held back by restrictive import taxes. As we approach the Copenhagen summit, rich and poor countries alike need to take urgent steps to reduce or remove the tariffs that green imports are subjected to.”

In 1997 trade tariffs on IT goods were abolished in order to get the sector moving. As a result, by 2005, members of the agreement made up 97% of the world trade in IT products.