The third collapse of the Doha Round –
following the collapse in Cancun in September 2003 and Geneva in July
2006 – indicates that it is time we bury the deceptively named
Doha Development Agenda, says the Bangkok based think tank Focus on
the Global South.
The latest breakdown in talks between
US, EU, Brazil and India in Potsdam, Germany yesterday, is good news
for democracy and the developing world.
Farcical Multilateral Process
The process was inherently
undemocratic. A G4 agreement would have been brought back to Geneva,
weaved into the Chair's texts and the entire membership would have
been given very short notice and asked to adopt those texts quickly
in order to ‘save' the multilateral system.
According to Aileen Kwa of Focus on the
Global South, "The ‘multilateral' process was simply farcical.
However, we are not out of the danger zone. The Director General is
now suggesting that Chairs come up with their own "compromise"
texts. Crawford Falconer's agriculture "Challenge" papers were
widely criticized as pandering to the concerns of the US and EU,
whilst riding rough shod over developing countries' concerns. If
this is to be repeated in his draft modalities, it will put
developing countries in a highly disadvantaged position in the
negotiations. The Chairs and Pascal Lamy forget that this is not just
a Geneva game. Lives are at stake when agriculture and industries are
forced to liberalise, and the impact is hardest on the poor".
Time of Reckoning for Kamal Nath
{xtypo_quote_left}The Indian elite's
dream of getting into the rich club gets shattered, as it must, when
the cold hand of the reality of the agrarian rural India touches it.
Will the Indian negotiators learn their lesson even at this late
stage?{/xtypo_quote_left}Speaking from New Delhi, SP Shukla, of the
Indian Peoples Campaign Against the WTO, said,
"This is in a way time of
reckoning for Kamal Nath. His dexterity in trying to hunt with the
hound and run with the hare at the same time seems to have reached
the dead end. Last time around in July 06 he could escape the dilemma
because of the differences between US and EU on agriculture grounded
the G-6. He earned praise from Mandelson for his "flexibility".
And he claimed back home that his valiant stand in favour of the
Indian peasantry led to the deadlock. Now he is asked to encash his
"flexibility" (which is a known euphemism for meekly
agreeing to open both industrial and agricultural markets to US and
EU). However, he cannot do so, for fear of the political backlash at
home, what with the state elections results in Punjab and UP, and the
impending forthcoming General Elections in 2009. And he has now
become, in less than a year, too rigid in the eyes of his
interlocutors from EU and US! What is worse, he and his colleague
from Brazil have been reminded politely by
G-90 plus that the two should not
presume to represent the developing countries. It is a clear case of
falling between the two stools.
"The Indian elite's dream of getting
into the rich club gets shattered, as it must, when the cold hand of
the reality of the agrarian rural India touches it. Will the Indian
negotiators learn their lesson even at this late stage?"
No Development in the Doha Round
The ‘promise' of development was
never sincere. Centered on market access, the Round simply cannot
deliver development to the poorest countries. It is highly unlikely
that the US and EU will tomorrow relent in their unreasonable market
access demands.
Developing countries also lose nothing
in the area of agriculture. Says Kwa, "US and EU have no desire to
make real cuts on agricultural domestic supports. Domestically, it is
unthinkable. Any cuts announced, including in export subsidies, are
artificial. Supports, including export subsidies are being shifted
into the Green Box, and both the US and EU are giving themselves huge
"water" in the so-called trade distorting domestic supports.
Developing countries will therefore lose nothing if we disband the
Round today. In fact, we will make gains – we would have retained
our ability to protect our borders against unfair and distorted
trade".
Contacts:
Afsar Jafri – India. Tel: 91
9833070803
S.P. Shukla – India. Tel : 91
1126897089
Aileen Kwa – Geneva. Tel: 41
79 6258536
