Brussels, 19/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - In his response to the letter from Peter Mandelson published on Monday (EUROPE 9330), Syed Kamall of Britain, who is a member of the European Parliament's Committee on External Trade, welcomed the Trade Commissioner's call for global free trade in key green goods and services. Mr Kamall said Mandelson's approach is “far more effective (…): Countries and governments do not trade with each other, people and companies do. A blanket tax on [imports of] goods from one country will harm those manufacturers who adopt environmentally-friendly policies but are based in countries that will not ratify an international agreement”, he argued, before going on to say: “We need to promote free trade in goods that are beneficial to the environment and the consumer will do the rest”. Furthermore, he concluded, “The EU should also use market-based mechanisms to help those countries that want to preserve their rainforest, rather than clear it for biofuel uses”. (eh)