BRUSSELS, CMC:
AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN and Pacific states (ACP) on Friday condemned as "a blatant attack by the big players on the small and vulnerable" a challenge being levelled by Australia, Brazil and Thailand to Europe's sugar regime before the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Thailand has become the latest country to request a panel under the Dispute Resolution Mechanism of the WTO, in support of its argument that the EU sugar regime, which subsidises EU producers, unfairly tampers with world prices.
But ACP countries, which are suppliers of sugar under the Sugar Protocol and enjoy preferential treatment, have charged that the action is motivated by "pure mercantilist considerations" and is a further demonstration of the use of legal rules in the context of the WTO to further marginalise the interest of the small and vulnerable economies.
"It is a blatant attack by the big players on the small and vulnerable motivated by pure mercantilist considerations.
"This is against both the spirit and the letter of WTO Agreements. Furthermore, the challenge could deny the LDCs the benefits, which they could expect from the EU 's (Everything But Arms) EBA initiative," an ACP statement issued on Friday said.
It noted that despite the ACP states submission to all the parties in this dispute that the challenge if successful would directly affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of poor farmers and will lead to the destruction of their livelihood, it has fallen on deaf ears.
"One can surely wonder about the significance which some competitive WTO Members accord to the development needs of vulnerable members especially at a time when Members are engaged in the Doha Development Agenda negotiations," it added.
ACP States supplying sugar to the EC in their consultation with both Australia and Brazil have stressed the importance of demonstrating goodwill in addressing their concerns in the context of the current WTO negotiations in Geneva and in the context of the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference Meeting in Cancun, Mexico later this year.
The ACP States concerned are determined to defend their vital trade interests and wonder whether the same WTO rules and disciplines should continue to apply to large competitive developing countries, such as Brazil and Thailand, on the one hand, and small economies and vulnerable small island developing countries, on the other.
