MEDIA ADVISORY
Friends of the Earth International
world trade talks threaten livelihoods,
but fisheries may escape the net
HONG KONG (CHINA), December 13, 2005 – On
the day trade ministers from 149 nations meet
in Hong Kong in an attempt to agree how to
further lower global barriers to trade,
Friends of the Earth International warned
that World Trade Organization (WTO) proposals
to fully eliminate tariffs in many sectors
could have extremely serious consequences for
millions of people dependent upon forests,
fisheries and other natural resources.
[1]
Furthermore, preliminary Friends of the
Earth analysis shows that full fisheries
liberalization is opposed, or 'not
supported,' by so many key countries that it
cannot remain in the negotiations. [2]
Despite the fact that current trade talks
were started to supposedly help the poorest
countries 'develop', these nations are being
put under heavy pressure to open up their
markets in a vast range of goods and
services.
A few key areas, including forests,
fisheries and minerals have been proposed for
complete liberalization, even though they are
already severely depleted. Local people and
Indigenous Peoples risk losing access to
their traditional resources, food and
medicines as they are set aside for
export.
"Liberalizing fisheries could endanger the
livelihoods of up to 40 million people who
rely completely on small-scale fishing for
food and livelihoods," said Ronnie Hall of
Friends of the Earth International.
"If Canada, New Zealand and Norway get
their way and include fisheries in the talks,
multinational corporations would move in to
profit from the natural resources of the
developing world at the expense of poor
farmers, workers, fisher folks and Indigenous
Peoples," she added.
Current WTO talks aim at freeing up trade
in a range of sectors from agriculture to
services to natural resources, boosting the
enormous inequalities that exist in the
current world trading system where the
poorest get poorer and the richest get
richer.
"What we need now is a halt to trade
liberalization negotiations and an urgent
review of the impacts of international trade
rules on the impoverished and the
environment," said Ronnie Hall of Friends of
the Earth International.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT IN
HONG-KONG:
Ronnie Hall, Friends of the Earth
International Trade Campaign (December 11-19)
+852 6129 0419 or ronnieh@foe.co.uk
David Waskow, Friends of the Earth
International Trade Campaign (Dec. 11-19)
+852 6127 8644 or dwaskow@foe.org
Alberto Villarreal, Friends of the Earth
International Trade Campaign +852 6127 0200
(December 11-19) or
comercioredes@gmail.com
Alexandra Wandel, Friends of the Earth
Europe: +852 6125 7644 (December 11-19) or
email alexandra.wandel@foeeurope.org
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] Friends of the Earth International is
the world's largest grassroots environmental
federation with 71 national member groups in
70 countries and 1.5 million individual
members and supporters. Friends of the Earth
International does not have a member group in
Hong Kong. 'Friends of the Earth Hong Kong'
is not a member of Friends of the Earth
International.
[2] Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Iceland,
Singapore, Thailand have proposed the
complete liberalization of fish and fish
products (TN/MA/W/63 18 October 2005). Canada
and the US have suggested that such sectoral
initiatives would probably require countries
responsible for 80-90% of world trade in a
given sector (TN/MA/W/55) to participate in a
negotiation. However Japan, South Korea and
Taiwan have explicitly rejected a fisheries
sectoral (TN/MA/W/6/Add.3); and in recent
weeks the European Union has also amended its
position, online here:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/newround/hk/environment_en.htm
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