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HONG KONG MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
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Some
200 Korean peasants, part of the international
Via Campesina mobilization, jump into
the Hong Kong harbor as a protest during
the WTO meeting in December [photo credit:
La Via Campesina]
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While
only a few concrete areas of agreement were reached,
developing nations seemed pleased with the elimination
of European and US farm export subsidies by 2013,
and US cotton export subsidies by 2006.
Most
NGO observers, from Oxfam to Third World Network to
the Africa Trade Network, condemned the agreement
however, saying it would hurt the poor and the environment.
Of major concern is that poor countries can be forced
to open key service sectors such as healthcare and
water, and to reduce tariffs on non-agricultural products,
making their industries vulnerable to take over by
powerful multinational corporations.
Much
remains to be negotiated in the coming months and
year.
Mark
Randazzo
Funders Network on Trade and Globalization (FNTG)
Link
to photos from the 2003 WTO Ministerials in Cancún,
Mexico
Link
to first-hand reports from the Cancún Ministerials
The
following are excerpts from a number of press statements,
as well as links to articles summarizing the agreements
in more detail.
It's
a deal: WTO works out a compromise
Wild swings took the World Trade Organisation (WTO)
to the brink on several occasions, but trade ministers
of 150 nations made a dramatic comeback to hammer
out a 'compromise deal' that holds a lot of promise
for developing countries like India on future market
access gains for agriculture products as farm export
subsidies of rich nations would be phased out, in
stages, by '13. In return for committing a deadline
for ending farm export subsidies, the industrialised
world has managed to force developing countries to
accept the 'Swiss' formula for import duty reduction
bindings for industrial goods. With not much progress
in services, the 'compromise' deal tries to balance
a trade off between agri subsidies to benefit developing
countries and enhanced market access in industrial
goods to appease rich nations.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1336631.cms
Focus
on the Global South
India
and Brazil have led the developing countries down
the garden path in exchange for some market access
in agriculture for Brazil, and services outsourcing
for India.
http://www.focusweb.org/content/view/786/36/
Intellectual
Property Watch
Trade ministers of the World Trade Organization members
concluded a six-day intensive negotiation with little
progress on the biggest issues, and minimal work on
intellectual property issues.
http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=186&res=1024_ff&print=0
Oxfam
"This is a profoundly disappointing text and
a betrayal of development promises by rich countries,
whose interests have prevailed yet again. Poor countries
have had to fight a rearguard action simply to keep
some of their issues on the table. Small progress
on some aspects of agriculture is more than cancelled
out by extremely damaging proposals on services and
industry," said Phil Bloomer, Head of Oxfam International's
Make Trade Fair campaign.
http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=wto_pr18.htm
Africa
Trade Network
The declaration from the Hong Kong WTO Ministerial
is a loss for African countries. They have been forced
to concede on most of the positions with which they
came to Hong Kong. And whatever comfort exists in
the other areas is ambiguous at best, illusory at
worstŠ The clearest loss is in the area of services,
where their right to choose which service sectors
to open and to what extent, according to their own
national needs, has been undermined.
http://www.fntg.org/news/index.php?op=read&articleid=1127
Friends
of the Earth International
Although a face-saving deal was reached on trade issues
here today, the global trade system remains in crisis.
Today's agreement contains proposals that will further
threaten the global environment and the livelihoods
of the worlds' poorest people. http://www.foei.org/media/2005/1218.html
U.S.
Trade Representative Rob Portman said he was disappointed
that the talks did not wring more concessions from
the EU on farm tariffs, which U.S. farmers say impede
their exports. "I was hoping for a great breakthrough
on agriculture, which didn't happen, but we did make
progress," U.S. Trade Portman said. "It
was not a bad result, and at the end of the day I
think it's a platform that we can work with to achieve
the bigger breakthroughs we'll need early in the next
year," he said. http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8EJ93C81.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down&chan=db
WTO
Director General Pascal Lamy's Blog
At the news conference the journalists pepper me with
questions, the last trial in this gruelling week.
But even they share our excitement at the result of
these six days. I will tell them that when I came
to Hong Kong, I was fully awake and the negotiations
were half-asleep; tonight I am half-asleep but the
good news is that the negotiations are now fully awake!
http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/dg_e/pl_visitors_e/min05_blog_e.htm
Faith
Events at the 6th WTO Ministerial
Go
to the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance Web site to read
various reports
Via
Campesina at Hong Kong Summit:
Peasants from around the world mobilized for the WTO
ministerial conference
The
international peasant movement La Via Campesina staged
protests against the liberalization of agriculture
and promoted alternative policies during the WTO ministerial
conference in Hong Kong from December 10 to 19.
Approximately
2,000 peasants took part in protests and activities,
including a large rally on December 13 and a Women
Peasants Forum on December 15. There were farmers’
delegations from Korea, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia,
Philippines, India, United States, Canada, France,
Spain, Brazil, Honduras, Mexico, Bangladesh, Timor
Leste, Malaysia, Nepal, Vietnam, Madagascar, Mozambique,
Mali, Norway, Dominica Republic, Nicaragua.
See
www.viacampesina.org
for reports and photos.
Background
on Hong Kong Ministerial
U.S.
Proposal, Food Aid, Agriculture Dumping and More
When the World Trade Organization meets in a few weeks
in Hong Kong, agriculture negotiations will take center
stage. Negotiators are far apart with only a few weeks
to find common ground. Read
the briefing report by the Institute for Agriculture
and Trade Policy (IATP), which outlines the key agriculture
issues facing WTO negotiators.
World
Trade Organization: The Hong Kong Ministerial
Download
the U.S. Interfaith Trade Justice Campaign's October
newsletter 
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