labels: economy - general, world economic forum, world trade organisation
The G-33 sticks together at Davos news
27 January 2007

The much-hyped "ministerial summit" at the annual gathering of policymakers with corporate chiefs at Davos reached its climax after four days of talks about the global economy, climate change and development, with the focus firmly on stalled global trade negotiations.

This year the conclave at the World Economic Forum featured the usual mix of debate and networking as politicians and the world's most highly paid corporate executives, who pay $26,000 to attend, mingled at the holiday resort in the Swiss Alps.

EU trade commissioner and WTO chief Pascal Lamy had make hectic efforts with the 30-odd trade ministers to get the rich and the poorer nations to agree to more concessions to enable the five years of heated and acrimonious disagreements during the Doha round to finally culminate in to a global agreement on trade and tariffs.

On Wednesday Mandelson told the UK-based Financial Times that he saw a breakthrough next month Indicating that cuts in farm tariffs, subsidies and goods tariffs was not far away. During a panel discussion on Africa, even British prime minister Tony Blair had said that he expected the trade talks to get underway again.

However, the US, trade representative Susan Schwab, has been far more circumspect throughout. Schwab was quoted as saying a framework agreement was possible "in a matter of months", but that would require rapid progress in the next few weeks.

Blair, along with pop star and activist Bono, had stressed during the debate that the Doha round was a vital part of development efforts of allowing developing countries to trade their way out of poverty.

However, a day ahead of the crucial meeting between trade ministers of key WTO players on Friday, India and other developing countries comprising the G-33 put the onus of restarting the stalled global trade talks on developed countries, particularly the US and EU.

Addressing the G-33 meeting, commerce minister Kamal Nath said, "The livelihood of billions of poor and vulnerable farmers in developing countries cannot be jeopardised."

"For us, agriculture is not trade, it is livelihood," Nath maintained. Along with other ministers, Nath stressed the importance of G-33's unity in safeguarding the interests of farmers and cautioned against attempts to steamroll agreements that could adversely impact their livelihood.

He said must be mutual respect of sensitivities if the Doha round negotiations were to move forward and also offered to host a G-33 meeting in New Delhi in March this year.

India's stand, particularly on agriculture negotiations, was also supported by China, which agreed that the issue was not just of trade but of subsidies and how to reduce it.

A strong articulation of the G-33 position could be an indication that the deadlock on trade talks might continue unless the US, which is locked in disagreements with the EU on import tariffs, changes its position on reducing farm subsidies.

The Doha round, which was launched in Qatar's capital in 2001, aims to eliminate trade barriers by reducing subsidies and tariffs and was supposed to be the final and clinching round of the general agreements on trades and tariffs.

However, the talks have been locked in dispute over the quantum of the cuts and the Doha round was suspended by WTO director-general Pascal Lamy last July following acrimonious meetings pitting the EU, the US and developing countries against each other.

Though there is uncertainty about whether Lamy will decide to re-start the talks after Saturday's meeting amid mixed signals about the chances of making major progress that could lead to a final agreement.

Commentators believe that even if Lamy were to decide to restart formal negotiations, any final agreement would require political approval that would face opposition in the current climate.

However, the Davos annual gathering was not about trade disagreements at the mini ministerial meeting. The forum also focused unprecedented attention on climate change, Africa's special development needs — initiated by Blair, Bono and Bill Gates that succeeded in putting Africa on top of the agenda on Friday — and peace initiatives in the Middle East.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was a star attraction, sharing a stage with Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni and deputy prime minister Shimon Peres for a discussion on ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Thursday.

 


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The G-33 sticks together at Davos