5 December 2005
Contents:
- WTO draft text released for Ministerial Meeting - talks remain in crisis
- Action stations: Write a letter to the editor and bring the negotiations
out from behind closed doors!
- Developing countries call to reclaim development in the Doha 'Development'
Round
- Doha Round's development impacts - Shrinking gains and real costs
- Chances diminish for solution on TRIPS and Public Health before Hong Kong
- Get informed: New info booklets on the WTO negotiations’
- Get involved: Events in December in the lead-up to the WTO Ministerial
(Sydney, Melbourne and Perth)
1. WTO draft text released for Ministerial Meeting - talks
remain in crisis
Talks remain deadlocked as the WTO Ministerial looms. Last week, the WTO Director
General, Pascal Lamy, produced the draft text which will form the basis of the Ministerial
negotiations. In the key areas of trade in agriculture and trade in industrial goods, the
draft text is merely a report of the current negotiations, rather than a draft set of
modalities. This reflects the lack of convergence in key areas.
The draft text on services however details the draft modalities. As explained in the
previous bulletin, the text includes a proposal to change the negotiating structure of
GATS in a way that will pressure countries to make commitments in a number of services
sectors including essential services. Developing countries have said that the draft
Ministerial text is biased towards developed country interests and silences developing
country concerns.
A copy of this text is available from the WTO website: www.wto.org. Detailed critiques of the draft text are available from
Third World Network: www.twnside.org
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2. Actions stations: Write a letter to the editor and bring
negotiations out into public debate!
It is clear that the Government prefers backroom negotiations over public debate about
the decisions being forged at the WTO Ministerial. So, it is up to us to raise these
issues with our politicians and to bring these issues into the public spotlight.
In the coming weeks, the progress of the WTO negotiations is likely to be in the media
a lot. This will be a good time to write letters to your local newspaper or to ring up
talk-back radio with your concerns about the current negotiations and fair trade more
generally. For more information about the Government’s position in the key
negotiating areas, please visit the AFTINET website and download the AFTINET submission on
the Doha negotiating round.
We need to raise the level of critical public debate leading up to and during the
Ministerial.
Here are some tips for your letters to the editor:
- Keep it short and snappy. Preferably under 150 words. It is good to stick to one main
point.
- New facts and figures or your own stories about the impacts of the negotiations are
good.
- Respond to articles quickly. Preferably before 2pm on the day the article is written. If
you are responding to a particular article, make sure you refer to this article in the
letter with the author and page number.
- Include your name, address and phone number. Newspapers will often contact you before
they print your letter.
- Write your letter in the body of the email. Make it as easy as possible for the
newspaper editor and don’t attach the letter in a separate document.
Here are the email contacts for letters to the editor at the main Australian
newspapers:
Sydney Morning Herald: letters@smh.com.au
The Age: letters@theage.com.au
Australian Financial Review: edletters@afr.com.au
The Australian: letters@theaustralian.com.au
Daily Telegraph: letters@dailytelegraph.com.au
Herald Sun: hsletters@heraldsun.com.au
Courier Mail: cmletters@qnp.newsltd.com.au
Adelaide Advertiser: advedit@adv.newsltd.com.au
Canberra Times: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au
West Australian: letters@wanews.com.au
Hobart Mercury: mercuryedletter@dbl.newsltd.com.au
And let us know if your letter gets published.
You should also keep writing to Trade Minister Vaile and to your local politicians.
Community campaigning led to a campaign win earlier this year when the Government were
forced to exclude water for human use from the WTO trade in services agreement (GATS).
This campaign has put the Government on alert and we need to keep the pressure on!
Write to Trade Minister Mark Vaile on:
The Hon Mark Vaile
Minister for Trade
Parliament House
Canberra
Email: mark.vaile.mp@aph.gov.au
Fax: 02 6273 4128
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3. Developing countries call to reclaim development in the Doha
'Development' Round
Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Namibia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa and
Venezuela have submitted a statement to the WTO that seeks to reclaim the development
objectives that have been lost in the WTO negotiations. The full statement is at http://www.tradeobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=77656.
Below are some key paragraphs:
The recent proposals of some major developed countries have attempted to sow division
among developing countries, re-interpret the framework and trajectory of the negotiations
and, in a self-serving manner, narrow, limit and - ultimately - undermine the
developmental objectives of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). It is thus timely to
reclaim the developmental objectives and trajectory of the negotiations.
Agriculture: A development round requires the removal of trade distortions in
international trade rules that inhibit the export growth of developing countries.. It is
for this reason that agriculture is the central issue of the Doha Round.
Due recognition must be given to the enormous imbalances in the global trading system
reflected in the inequitable distribution of the gains from globalisation and the
continued protection in developed countries against products from developing countries.
Trade in Goods (NAMA): many developing countries have continued to undertake
unilateral liberalisation beyond their WTO Uruguay round commitments and reform their
industrial sectors, a significant part of their production and employment remain in
sensitive sectors, and further liberalisation of these sensitive sectors would have to be
preceded by carefully managed adjustment policies.
Developing countries cannot be expected to pay for the much needed reforms in the
agriculture sectors of developed countries (referred to above), by overly ambitious
requests of them in industrial tariffs that do not take into account the realities of
their levels of economic development and their adjustment needs. Developing countries are
prepared to make a contribution to the NAMA negotiations in this round, provided that
their concessions will be commensurate with their levels of development in a full
expression of the principle of special differential treatment.
Least Developed Countries (LDCs): Not all developing countries stand to gain
from the DDA in the short to medium term. A significant number of developing countries
including, small, weak and vulnerable countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) will
face significant transitional costs, especially those countries that are preference
dependant and will suffer significant preference erosion. We support the need for a
package of development measures to foster their integration into the world trading system
and enhanced development. We pledge to work for the provision of duty free and quota free
market access for all LDCs, and we urge developed countries to make a firm commitment in
this regard by the Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting. Developing countries in a position to do
so are also encouraged to make efforts to open their markets to LDCs on a non-reciprocal
basis.
Unbalanced Intellectual Property Rules: The Uruguay Round created a number of
new trade rules, such as the agreements TRIPS, that developing countries consider to be
imbalanced, in favour of developed countries. Developing countries have called for these
agreements to be reviewed during the Doha round. For example, the TRIPS agreement has
strengthened the rights of private ownership without providing equivalent protection for
the intellectual property rights of communities. Developing countries are a recognized
repository of traditional knowledge that is also enhanced by their bio-diversity. In the
recent past attempts have been made to misappropriate this knowledge for commercial gain,
without providing a just reward to these communities. Developing countries have therefore
sought amendments in the TRIPS Agreement to prevent bio-piracy of biological material and
to prevent misappropriation of traditional knowledge. We call on the developed countries
to consider proposals for new disciplines on disclosure of the source and country of
origin of biological resources and traditional knowledge, and to secure prior informed
consent and equitable benefit sharing.
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4. Doha Round’s Development Impacts: Shrinking gains and real
costs
RIS (India)22 November 2005
What a difference two years makes. In 2003, as trade negotiators approached the Cancún
WTO meetings, World Bank projections promised $832 billion in estimated gains from global
trade liberalisation, the majority – $539 billion – going to the developing
world. These seemingly robust numbers were cited far and wide, by developing country
negotiators and NGOs alike, in their clarion call for deep liberalisation.
Now, on the eve of the WTO’s Hong Kong ministerial, the so-called gains from trade
seem to have evaporated. New projections, from the same World Bank sources, estimate
potential welfare gains at just $287 billion – just one-third their level two years
ago. Developing country gains dropped to just $90 billion, a "loss" in two years
of over 80 per cent. More discouraging still, developing countries’ share of global
gains has fallen from about 60 per cent to just 31 per cent, hardly a good advertisement
for this so called "development round" of global trade talks.
The full article is available at: http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/rp/RISPolicyBrief19WiseGallagherNov05.pdf
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5. Chances diminish for solution on TRIPS and Public Health before Hong
Kong
Key officials in Geneva indicate that World Trade Organization members are not likely
to find a compromise on a permanent amendment to global trade rules in order to allow poor
countries to import affordable medicines in time for the December WTO ministerial in Hong
Kong. There is no formal deadline for items to be included in the Hong Kong agenda, but
"in practical terms any text to be taken to Hong Kong should be completed by about 2
December at the latest," a WTO official said.
At issue is a mandate for members to make a permanent amendment to the WTO Agreement on
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to allow countries to import
cheap generics under compulsory licenses when deemed necessary. Such a waiver was mandated
to be made permanent by 2002 under paragraph six of the 2001 Doha Declaration on TRIPS and
Public Health. A temporary waiver was agreed on 30 August, 2003.
Negotiations at this point are centred on the status of a statement read out by the
chairman at the time of adoption. A wide variety of group and bilateral meetings on the
issue are taking place but so far there have been no breakthroughs, according to sources.
A key Geneva source familiar with the negotiations said that there has been no movement
among interested members and that "nothing was on the table."
The source said that most likely there would not be any settlement before Hong Kong,
adding that the African group last week held inconclusive discussions and referred the
issue to this week’s African ministerial meeting in Arusha, Tanzania. The Arusha
meeting is being held to prepare for the Hong Kong ministerial. A developing country
official said that the African ministers would evaluate the situation and give directions
for further negotiations, which may not start until next week.
"This is an African issue, people are dying of HIV/AIDS…. There is a need for
us to have a solution," one African delegate involved in the discussions said. He
said that the "ultimate object" of the African group is to resolve the issue
before Hong Kong. The African delegate said that the African group hoped that the EU or
the US would compromise and move towards the African position, but he also signaled that
the African group "had to look at reality." The delegate said that "we
should conclude it in a hurry" but also emphasised that it was important to get it
right. In any case there should be a focus on "substance" and not the emotional
aspects of the negotiation, he said.
However, another Geneva source said that the US and EU were "not giving
anything," making a solution before Hong Kong questionable. The EU and the US are
also not likely to fight each other on the issue of the chairman’s statement, the
source said.
This is a summary of an article produced by IP Watch. The full article is found at www.ipwatch.org/weblog/index.php?p=147&res=1152_ff&print=0.
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6. Get informed: New info booklets on the WTO negotiations
A couple of great new Australian publications have been released in the lead-up to
the WTO Ministerial.
Global Trade Watch has produced an updated version of the People’s Guide to the
WTO. This is available on the internet at www.tradewatchoz.org or contact Global Trade Watch at info@globaltradewatch.org to ask for some
copies for your community.
AID/WATCH have produced a booklet on ‘Reframing the trade justice debate’.
This booklet was launched at a public forum on the WTO organised by The Commons Institute,
AFTINET, AID/WATCH and the Research Institute for International Activism. Copies are
available from www.aidwatch.org.au.
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7. Get involved: Events in December in the lead up to the WTO
Ministerial In Sydney
This is a short documentary made by Focus on the Global South in Thailand. It will be
followed by a brief update on the state of play in negotiations and discussion!
Where Outside the offices of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Angel
Place, 123 Pitt St, Sydney
Let’s bring these negotiations out from behind closed doors! This rally will
coincide with a massive opening people’s rally in Hong Kong. Let the Government know
that essential services should be decided democratically at the local and national level
and not signed away in trade agreements!
Come along and bring a friend and a banner from your organisation or a colourful banner
you made yourself!
