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doha, 10 november 2001
of empty
promises and money in the ministerial
conference
The opening day of the 4th WTO Ministerial
Conference in Doha yesterday once again bore
witness to the strong-arm and misleading
negotiating tactics of the United States and
the EU within the WTO. Delegations of
developing and least developed countries that
have continued to oppose the launch of a new
comprehensive round of trade negotiations at
Doha were the targets of private informal
meetings with either the US or the EU
delegations.
The US, however, will be negotiating with
an empty hand. The Bush administration does
not have “fast track” legislation from the US
Congress delegating to it the authority to
negotiate trade agreements with other
countries. This means that whatever
commitments relating to trade policy that the
US might give to its trade partners in the
course of any negotiations (both in this
Ministerial Conference and afterwards) will
not bind the US unless the Congress says so.
More to the point, US legislators have
specifically directed the Bush administration
not to weaken US trade and agriculture laws
by agreeing to the current language in the
draft Ministerial Declaration that would
require the US to negotiate changes in its
anti-dumping laws and lessen the level of
protection for US farmers.
The EU was no less duplicitous. During its
private informal meeting with some African
delegations yesterday, according to some
African delegates who were present, the EU
reportedly offered 50 million euros as aid in
exchange for agreement from those present for
the launch of a new comprehensive round. When
asked whether it was an attempt to bribe
African countries, Pascal Lamy allegedly
merely smiled.
Alexandra Wandel of Friends of the Earth
International said:
“Hypocrisy was the order of the day at the
start of the WTO Ministerial Conference here
in Doha. Both the US and the EU continue to
push forward their respective trade agendas
in the WTO through empty promises and offers
of money. This shows that negotiations in the
WTO are done not on principles and the
observance of rules, but rather through the
use of duplicity and power. This leads to the
continued marginalisation of many developing
and least developed countries within the WTO.
It also fails to address the concerns raised
by poor countries and civil society regarding
the pace, implementation, and social,
economic, and environmental impacts of trade
liberalization under the Uruguay Round.”
In Doha, contact:
Vice Yu
FOEI WTO Program Officer
+41 79 237 5626 (mobile)
Alexandra Wandel
Trade, Environment and Sustainability
Coordinator FOE Europe
+539 2747 or 49 172 748 3953 (mobile)
Bertram Zagema
Milieudefensie/FOE Netherlands
+31 62 959 3877 (mobile)
Chowdhury KA News
Trade Campaigner FOE Bangladesh
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