Peter Mandelson, minister for business, urged G20 governments to speak out in defence of liberal market reforms imposed on poor countries, linked to restrictions on imports from those same countries. ‘How can we be expected to maintain our standard of living without protecting profitability?’, he asked. Appealing to the G20 nations to stand united in their opposition to old fashioned trade unionism in developing countries, he added: ‘If we’re soft on workers’ organizations in those parts of the world, their excessive pay demands can only have a deleterious effect on the profits of American and European corporations. This would hamper their ability to pay huge bonuses to top executives and directors, many of whom may be former government ministers’.