Statement by Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon on the eve of WTO Cancun Ministerial Conference
8 September 2003
Trade apartheid must endAs long as the US, Europe and Japan continue dishing out farm subsidies at the rate of $1 billion a day, developing nations stand no chance of trading their way out of poverty. That is not only trade injustice. It is trade apartheid.
In the Uruguay round of trade negotiations, developed countries promised to make substantial cuts in agricultural subsidies. That didn't happen. The current round was held out as a development round, where the issue of agricultural subsidies would be finally addressed. The developed world must therefore show the commitment and political courage to reform agriculture and help millions of people in developing countries lift themselves out of poverty.
The stakes are higher than they have ever been. A deal to open up rich countries' markets to poor nations could lift up to 144 million people out of poverty by 2015. But failure to cut farm subsidies will harm poor countries even more and threatens the future of the multilateral trade order.
I will be discussing these issues during my meeting with Commonwealth Trade Ministers on Tuesday, 9 September. I urge industrialised countries to negotiate in good faith at Cancun and realise that everyone stands to lose from another fudge.
If developed countries are serious about tackling global poverty, if people in Europe and the US are concerned about reducing the flow of economic refugees and if they want to see a reduction in the disparity of world income, then they should begin by reducing agricultural subsidies.
We know that subsidies have a very distorting effect on world trade. The integrity of the rich world is certainly diminished if they push for trade liberalisation in the developing world and maintain protectionism at home.
I am concerned that this round will not be driven by logic, common sense or even fairness. Rather, it shows all the signs of being driven by economic clout and global influence.
The Cancun meeting will only be successful if it is based on a spirit of generosity. Countries with per capita incomes of more than $US 20,000 can surely afford to be generous to those whose per capita income is less than $US 1,000.
It should be a potent signal to the developed world when experienced farmers in the developing world feel there is no alternative to growing drugs because agricultural subsidies and tariff barriers in the industrialised world prevent them from selling for example, their sugar or maize.
Phasing out trade-distorting subsidies would reduce the real cost of products to consumers in the developed world. Moreover, the money governments would save could be invested in health, education and public services. But for this to happen, governments in rich countries must start to stand up to farm lobbies and act in the wider interest of consumers and taxpayers.
Fairness in trade is not only about establishing a level playing field. It is also about tackling exploitation and ensuring that those who make a profit don't forget those who generate it for them.
Note to Editors
For media enquiries please contact Michele Law on +44 7711 710047.
delicious
digg
reddit
facebook
stumbleupon
News feedsLatest Speech
- Commonwealth Tourism Ministers MeetingCommonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma
Useful Resources
Subscribe to our weekly email news bulletin and quarterly ezine - click here