Similar actions will take place in over 30 countries worldwide as civil society, farmers and workers rally against the EU's proposed Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with 76 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.
In the UK, participants will gather under the banner of the Trade Justice Movement, which includes organisations such as CAFOD, Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth, Tearfund, Traidcraft and Oxfam as well as trade unions, Fairtrade campaigns and faith groups.
Glen Tarman, coordinator of the Trade Justice Movement, said: "Trade, under the right conditions, can help make poverty history. Yet these deals threaten to undermine poverty reduction and destroy livelihoods across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Europe's proposals would not boost development - in many cases they would make people poorer.
"Europe is demanding that poor countries radically open their markets and make major concessions on new issues such as investment, which have been rejected by developing countries at the World Trade Organisation. This would destroy livelihoods, undermine future economic growth and deprive poor countries of the space they need to choose the best solutions to end poverty and protect the environment."
Campaigners will start at the German embassy in Belgrave Square, where they will ask the current holder of the EU Presidency, to use its influence to make sure the new trade deals, due to be completed this year, promote - rather than undermine - development. Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to make development a cornerstone of Germany's presidency.
After an initial meeting with German embassy representatives, campaigners will visit other EU embassies, the UK's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the London office of the European Commission. The message they are hoping the political leaders of EU countries will hear is: "Europe: Don't lock Africa into poverty".
Tarman added: "The UK government has voiced its concern in the past about the process and content of EPAs negotiations. Now more than ever their intervention matters. We are calling on Alistair Darling, UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, to use his influence in Europe to stop unfair deals going ahead. Europe must listen to the concerns of poor countries and work with them to develop trade deals that genuinely work for development."
Trade Justice Movement members argue that any trade deal between the EU and the ACP should not impose reciprocity and must provide at least equivalent to existing market access. It should exclude commitments on services, investment or other trade-related issues and have simplified rules of origin.
The December 2007 deadline should not be enforced. The EU must commit to continue existing trade preferences until satisfactory alternative arrangements are put in place and also guarantee extra aid to help with adjustment costs, new infrastructure, and other trade related investments. This aid should not be conditional on signing an EPA.
