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Africans to Oppose Launch of New Round of Trade Talks

Isabella Gyau Orhin
October 8, 2001
Accra

African Ministers and civil society groups are to oppose the launch of a new round of negotiations at the fourth coming World Trade Organisation (WTO) conference in Doha, capital of the Persian Gulf emirate of Qatar.

The Doha meeting is the first after the failed Seattle meeting two years ago. Demonstrations and mass protests due to major disagreements stalled the Seattle meeting.

They have rather called for development issues to be placed at the centre of each negotiation. "This the ministers said will require, addressing the imbalances in the WTO agreement, improving real access to developed markets for products and services of export interests to African countries, enhancing productive capacities and transfer of technology as well as improving technical cooperation and capacity building."

These were part of declarations of African Ministers and civil society groups at the just ended ministerial meeting on the WTO in Abuja, Nigeria. The four-day Abuja meeting was held between September 19th and 23rd.

Africans have also asked the advanced countries and the WTO secretariat to be democratic and transparent in their dealings with poorer countries.

Briefing newsmen on the outcome of the meeting, coordinator of the Africa Secretariat of Third World Network, a non-profit, research, policy and advocacy organisation, Dr. Yao Graham said Africa's delegation to the Qatar meeting also demanded that there should be no expansion of the WTO by bringing in new issues such as investments, competition, government procurement, biotechnology and accelerated tariff liberilisation.

"Social rights and services should be protected, therefore education, health, water, energy, environmental and other rights and services must not be subjected to liberalisation under the General Agreement of Services (GATS), "Dr. Graham quoted the Ministers and civil society groups.

In short the WTO is being asked to restrict itself to only trade issues, he explained.

In addition, patenting of life forms must be prohibited while the TRIPS agreement should be removed from the WTO entirely.

The TRIPS agreement is a protectionist instrument, which largely promotes corporate monopoly, restricts developing countries' access to technology and denies the poor access to crucial medicine.

The Civil Society groups upheld the Organisation of African Unity model law, which asserts the need to protect indigenous African knowledge.

"Measures taken to promote and protect food security, food sovereignty and small scale agriculture and enterprise must be exempt from WTO trade disciplines," the groups asked.

According to Dr. Graham, the Ministers expressed their determination to ensure that agriculture negotiations produce improved and effective market access for African exports and emphasised the need for effective implementation of GATS.

The General Secretary of the General Agricultural Workers Union Secretary General Secretary, Kingsley Offei Nkansah in a contribution said the groups also demanded an effective implementation and expansion of special differential rights for developing countries. They also asked the WTO and the West to fully recognise the weak position of these developing countries and provide them enough space to actively participate in the global economy according to their own needs.

Giving a background to the WTO, Dr. Graham said the WTO since its establishment in 1995 has become an influential body like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which determines the fate of millions of people around the world.

The WTO secretariat, which is supposed to be neutral, is behaving as if it is in the pocket of the rich and industrialised nations, coordinator of TWN Africa Secretariat charged.

Dr. Graham observed that developing countries, especially in Africa have weak negotiation mechanisms, while European countries come in large groups and negotiate well.

A country like Ghana has only three representatives at the WTO while Japan has 700 representatives in Geneva, he pointed out.

Dr. Graham said the WTO, which actually replaced the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT), has done more harm to Africa citing lack of democracy and transparency in their dealings.

A draft declaration for the discussion at the Doha meeting completely ignores complaints from Africa and other third world countries for fair treatment, he added.

Martin Khor, Director of TWN International has described the draft declaration, which will be discussed at the WTO meeting in November as very disappointing. "It is very imbalanced against the interests of developing countries," he said.

He said like most Non-governmental organisations and developing countries have been expressing the urgent need to correct present imbalances and to resolve problems of implementation. As a result they have expressed their unwillingness to accept negotiations on new issues and have refused to launch a New Round.

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200110080624.html