The Rich Set to Reap in Cancun
By Adetokunbo Abiola
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There is something seriously wrong with the international institutions that
govern globalization. This was why Professor Joseph Stiglitz, the former
economic adviser to President Bill Clinton, said: "The developed world
needs to do its part to reform the international institutions that govern
globalization. We set up those institutions and we need to fix them."
Fixing these institutions is imperative in the backdrop of the Fifth World
Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial conference which is taking place
in Cancun, Mexico today. The main task of the conference is to take stock
of the progress of negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda. The agenda,
needless to say, is one of the few deliberations to take the interest of the
developing countries at the centre of a broad and balanced working programme.
Before and after Doha the WTO has been beset by a number of criticisms. It has
been accused of being undemocratic and non-transparent in its decision
making prcess. This enables the rich and powerful developed countries to
prevail over the developing countries, making globalization to benefit the former.
Though the WTO is meant to promote free trade, the fact that a few advanced
countries manipulate its decision making machinery defeats the purpose of why
the organization was set up. The manipulation has led to massive subsidies in
the agricultural products of the few rich nations, hurting farmers in Africa and Latin
America, since their produceis no longer competitive in the world market compared
to those from the EU, the United States, Japan and Canada. Indications are that
Cancun could suffer from the tradition of decision making process of the WTO.
In the preparatory months to Cancun, the informal and non-inclusive nature
of the decision making and drafting which the WTO has been accused of having
reared their ugly heads. A few weeks to the conference, there was noi draft text for the
ministerials and developing countries members did not know when the text would
emerge. This was a deliberate ploy. Deprived of the draft text, developing nations would have little time
to respond to the document and co-ordinate among themselves towards a common
initiative. The possiblity of inadequate time forced a group of developing nations to call for orderly
procedure that are well accepted in concave or organizations
of sovereign states.
Apart from this, the process of negotiations in the count down to Cancun
was unknown. For instance, modalities on the agricultural negotiations were meant
to be agreed upon by the month of March, but this had not been deliberated
upon in July. There was no agreement in sight, as well as decisions on whether or not
to initiate negotiations in investment, competition, transparency in government procurement,
trade facilitation and other key areas. This engendered surprises on the
part of devloping nations as the ministerials drew near. The latter states were put
on their back foot, forcing them to react to situations rather than to control them.
Months after the start of the "offers" round, when nations indicate sectors
they are willing to liberalize, the rich nations were not forthcoming and the WTO had no
mechanism, or did not see the need, to control the situation. The fall out of this is that the most
important decisions by the ministers of the developing world will be taken right there
in Cancun. And their handle on the complex technical details of the issues
cannot match those of trade experts who should have been privy to the deliberations.
Furthermore, there will be no fundamental change in the voting rights
in Cancun. The trade ministers of the industrialized world will head the WTO meetings. This,
of course, hampers the effective participation required from representatives of the
Third World. Seen wiothin the background of the expected push of the EU,
Canada and Japan for a WTO investment agreement, this could prove to be suicidal.
An investment agreement in Cancun means the advancement of the corporate
agenda of the rich countries to create new opportunites for expansion
of their multinational corporations. It will also give these entities sweeping powers
in the countries they invest, including the ability to control the environmental, social,
natural and local laws and regualations of these nations.
The decision making apparatus of the WTO needs to be overhauled. The negotiating
process should be agreed upon by all deligates for the preparatory phase
of WTO conferences. All members should be given the chance to express
their views on the draft agenda drawn up, as well as be given sufficient time to
study the documents to facilitate proper consideration by and consultation
with their capitals. Finally, representatives of develpong nations need to head
WTO meetings too in order to promote effective participation.
Since these features are not in place, it will be business as usual in
Cancun. The rich industrialized countries will get in proposals which will make
them richer, while at the same time forcing poor countries to become poorer.
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Copyright © 2003 Adetokunbo Abiola, Nigerian correspondent to Earthhope Action Network
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