HONG KONG (AP):
MORE THAN 100 developing countries joined forces yesterday to press rich member-nations of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to fulfil the commitments they made earlier to reform the global trading system to the benefit of the poor.
Six different groupings of developing countries made a joint statement saying they would work to pursue a common negotiating stance at the Hong Kong talks, which remain deadlocked amid bickering between the United States and the European Union.
It was the first time that so many developing countries issued a joint statement within the WTO, Brazil's External Affairs Minister Celso Amorim told reporters.
HISTORIC MOMENT
"This is a really historic moment," Amorim said, amid applause from scores of trade officials and aid group representatives, who also were attending the news conference. "A sort of revolution within the WTO."
The joint statement said the six groups of poor countries "vowed to intensify their dialogue with a view to ensuring that the negotiations lead to an outcome
consistent with the development mandate of the Doha round."
The current round of trade talks were launched in Doha, Qatar's capital, in 2001, particularly to address the concerns of poor nations, which say they had lost out in previous WTO negotiations. Progress has been slow, however, because of an impasse over agricultural trade, blamed on the European Union, which has refused to make greater cuts in farm subsidies and tariffs that poor nations say hurt their farmers.
While the Hong Kong meeting appears like it won't produce any major breakthroughs,
negotiators would like to see
agreements on proposals that would benefit them.
These include duty-free and quota-free access for imports from so-called least developed countries, a package for African cotton exporters and measures to cushion some countries that would be adversely affected by elimination of export subsidies in the U.S. and E.U.
TALKS HAVE FAILED TO DELIVER
This week's talks have so far failed to deliver on these issues, frustrating trade delegates from poor countries and prompting them to strengthen their alliance.
Zambia's Trade Minister Deepak Patel, who represents the least developed countries, bluntly said there would be no global free trade if rich nations didn't seek to meet poor nations' demand.
"We're not at all interested in the disingenuous use of the English language ... We want to know how and when steps will be taken to meet their concerns," Patel said. "If you can't give an answer to how and when, then our response is what part of 'no' do you not understand?"
The new alliance came despite many conflicting interests among the poor countries with widely varying levels of development.
Brazil, along with India, leads a Group of 20 most vocal developing countries that want wealthy nations to scrap farm subsidies and make drastic cuts in tariffs before pushing for any deal on further liberalisation of global trade. But if the subsidies go, some African and Caribbean countries could lose the trade preferences they currently get from the E.U.
Similarly, a group of 45 countries led by Indonesia want special treatment that would allow them to open their markets slowly and selectively, a provision
that could hurt potential export
interests of countries like Thailand and Malaysia.
Such differences have prevented the poor countries to put up a common front during previous WTO negotiations.
