|
Get AfricaFocus Bulletin by e-mail!
Print this page
|
Note: This document is from the archive of the Africa Policy E-Journal, published
by the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC) from 1995 to 2001 and by Africa Action
from 2001 to 2003. APIC was merged into Africa Action in 2001. Please note that many outdated links in this archived
document may not work.
|
Africa: Cancun, Agriculture
AFRICA ACTION
Africa Policy E-Journal
September 12, 2003 (030912)
Africa: Cancun, Agriculture
(Reposted from sources cited below)
African cotton producers, with their explicit demand for
compensation for damages caused by U.S. subsidies to their famers,
have taken center stage in discussions on agriculture at Cancun.
And a group of developing nations known as the G21, including
India, Brazil, and China as well as South Africa and Egypt, has
issued a strong statement on agriculture, demanding that it be the
new basis for discussion on this key issue. The group is growing,
having changed its name recently from G20 to G21 with the addition
of Egypt.
The Indo-Asian News Service reported today that Deputy US Trade
Representative Peter Allgeier was "perplexed" about why and how
this group of countries came together.
This posting contains the official proposal from African cotton
producers, and a summary from Third World Network on the
negotiations on agriculture.
In addition to sources cited in another posting today (Cancun,
Overview), see the following e-journal postings from 2002 on Crops
and Trade:
http://www.africafocus.org/docs02/ag0209a.php>
and
http://www.africafocus.org/docs02/ag0209b.php>
+++++++++++++++++end summary/introduction+++++++++++++++++++++++
Draft Decision Concerning Measures in Favour of Cotton
World Trade Organization (Geneva)
August 22, 2003
Geneva
The Secretariat of the World Trade Organization in Geneva
circulated the following draft declaration calling for the phasing
out of all subsidies to cotton farmers within three years. These
proposals were made by Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali.
The following communication, dated 21 August 2003, has been
received by the Chairman of the General Council from the Permanent
Mission of Benin:
I have the honour to submit to you in annex the Draft Decision
Concerning Specific Measures in Favour of Cotton with a View to
Poverty Alleviation.
The four countries co-sponsoring the Sectoral Initiative in Favour
of Cotton, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali, would be most
grateful if this document could be circulated to Members of the
World Trade Organization, and examined by the session of the
General Council scheduled for 25 August 2003.
The Ministerial Conference,
Recalling the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article IX of the
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (the
WTO Agreement) and the Decision-Making Procedures Under Article IX
of the WTO Agreement agreed by the General Council (WT/L/93),
On the basis of the recommendations contained in paragraphs 13 and
14 of the Ministerial Declaration (WTO/MIN(01)/DEC/1) of the Fourth
Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), held
in Doha (Qatar) from 9 to 14 November 2001,
Recalling the provisions of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the Agreement on
Agriculture concerning domestic support, competition and export
subsidies, and anxious to ensure open, equitable and just
multilateral trade and to eliminate all distortions in the
production and marketing of cotton, a product for which the four
co-sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton - Benin,
Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali - have a recognized comparative
advantage,
Bearing in mind that, as indicated in paragraph 2 of the Doha
Ministerial Declaration, "international trade can play a major role
in the promotion of economic development and the alleviation of
poverty",
Having examined the request of the four (4) WTO Members, Benin,
Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali, that co-sponsored the Sectoral
Initiative in Favour of Cotton contained in documents TN/AG/GEN/4,
TN/AG/GEN/6 and WT/MIN/03/W/2,
Taking account of the strategic importance of cotton for the
economies of the West and Central African Countries affected by the
domestic support measures and the cotton export subsidies granted
by certain countries to their cotton producers,
Concerned at the serious consequences of the domestic support
measures and export subsidies in favour of cotton for the economies
of the developing countries, and particularly the least-developed
countries (LDCs), affected by these measures, and for the social
conditions of populations in the rural cotton-producing communities
in those countries,
Stressing the urgency of settling the problems faced by the
countries belonging to the LDC group as a result of the domestic
support measures and the subsidies granted to cotton,
Decides as follows:
1. Elimination of domestic support and cotton export subsidies
1.1 WTO Members undertake to eliminate domestic support measures
and subsidies for the production and export of cotton over a period
of three (3) years from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2006.
This elimination shall take the form of a gradual decrease, in
equal annual portions, i.e. a yearly decrease equal to at least one
third (33.3 per cent) of the total level of subsidies granted.
2. Transitional financial compensation mechanism
2.1 WTO Members decide to establish a transitional financial
compensation mechanism in favour of the cotton-exporting LDCs
affected by these subsidies, for a period of three (3) years from
1 January 2004 to 31 December 2006.
2.2 Starting on 1 January 2004, and until the domestic support
measures and subsidies granted to the production and export of
cotton have been totally dismantled, Members that have granted
these subsidies will be called upon to grant financial compensation
equivalent to the amount of the loss in export revenue suffered by
the LDCs affected by these subsidies, in conformity with paragraphs
2.3, 2.4, 2.5 and 2.6 of this Decision.
2.3 The annual amount of compensation to be paid shall correspond
to the estimated losses suffered, calculated on the basis of the
statistics supplied by the International Cotton Advisory Committee
(ICAC) for the cotton seasons 1999/2000, 2000/2001 and 2001/2002.
2.4 The amount of the overall financial compensation to be paid
shall be adjusted in proportion to the subsidy reduction efforts of
the countries contributing to the compensation fund.
2.5 To that end, a compensation fund shall be created under the
authority of a body to be determined, with responsibility for
collecting and distributing the overall financial compensation
mentioned in paragraph 2.4. The contributing countries shall be
identified in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 1.1,
2.2, 2.3 and 2.4 of this Decision.
2.6 The compensation granted to the LDCs shall be calculated in
proportion to their respective shares in the production and export
of cotton as communicated by the ICAC.
2.7 At the national level, the management of financial
compensations shall be the joint responsibility of the producers'
associations in the countries affected and the competent national
structures, under the supervision of institutions to be determined.
3. Management and control of the elimination of subsidies and of
financial compensation
3.1 Members undertake to create, by 15 October 2003 at the latest,
a mechanism for the control and elimination of domestic support
measures and export subsidies in favour of cotton, which shall be
operated by a committee set up to monitor the implementation of the
above measures under the supervision of the WTO Committee on
Agriculture (Special Session). This committee shall submit a
progress report each year to the WTO General Council and the
Ministerial Conference on the implementation of this Decision, and
shall propose, where necessary, appropriate corrective measures.
3.2 WTO Members shall be regularly informed of the implementation
of this Decision through notifications submitted by the countries
contributing to and benefitting from the compensation fund in
connection with the work of the Special Session of the Committee on
Agriculture.
TWN Info Service on WTO Issues
9 Sept 2003
Third World Network
http://www.twnside.org.sg
TWN Briefings
SOME KEY ISSUES IN CANCUN
By Martin Khor
[section on agriculture; for other sections of this briefing see
separate e-journal posting today]
AGRICULTURE
This is expected to be Cancun's big fight. In mid-August the US
and EU got together and proposed: (a) a deal in which they would
not have to give up or even reduce their domestic subsidies and
they can escape from the Doha goal of eliminating export subsidies
and disciplining export credits; (b) a "blended" formula for
cutting tariffs in which their high tariffs can escape the net
whilst the developing countries would end up with deeper cuts in
more products; (c) nothing substantial on S&D for developing
countries.
This so outraged the developing countries that 20 of them
(including Brazil, India and China) combined to come up with their
own proposal that would: (a) commit the rich countries to
significantly reduce their domestic subsidies of all types, and
eliminate their export subsidies, whilst applying the "blended
formula"; (b) provide S&D for developing countries, with less
tariff reduction commitments, and the introduction of "special
products" and a special safeguard mechanism (SSM) against import
surges. Some developing countries want more meaningful S&D and
have their own proposals. The Chairman's draft text on agriculture
(especially in Annex A) has practically adopted the US-EU
framework, with some weak and inadequate provisions for developing
countries, some of which (like the SSM) would come with conditions
and have still to be negotiated. In Cancun, a battle between the
EU-US position and the Brazil-India-etc proposal can be expected.
Developing countries and social movements that are really concerned
with the impact of cheap imports on farmers' livelihoods and food
security will not see their concerns addressed satisfactorily. For
them it will be a case of how much damage will emerge.
What Should Be Done: The Cancun draft on agriculture (Annex A)
should not be accepted. A new draft should be produced in the
negotiations, that ensures that developed countries give up their
export subsidies and domestic support measures within a short time
frame, whilst strong protection is given for developing countries'
small farmers and food security. If the complex issues cannot be
resolved, the Ministers may just ask that further work be done in
Geneva.
Third World Network
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES PREPARE FOR AGRICULTURE BATTLE AT CANCUN
MINISTERIAL
TWN Report from Cancun, 9 Sept 2003 (By Martin Khor)
[excerpts only; for full report see http://www.twnside.org.sg]
As the WTO's Fifth Ministerial Conference begins, developing
countries have given notice that they will fight to the end of the
meeting to ensure that their positions on the framework on
modalities for agriculture negotiations will prevail over the
present draft Cancun text on agriculture and the US-EU position on
which it is mainly based.
On 8 Sept evening, the Group of 21 (G21) developing countries told
a media conference (chaired by the Brazilian Foreign Minister) that
they will insist that their framework proposal (first submitted in
Geneva on 20 and 28 August, and now re-issued as a Ministerial
document WT/MIN(03)/W/6 dated 4 Sept) be at the center of the
agriculture negotiations in Cancun. They rejected the text
submitted by the General Council chairman, Uruguay Ambassador
Carlos Perez del Castillo, as the basis of negotiations.
At another media conference, chaired by the Indonesian Trade
Minister, another group of 23 developing countries announced they
had formed an Alliance for Strategic Products and Special Safeguard
Mechanism (SSM) to fight for the interests of "small vulnerable
resource-poor farmers from developing countries" through strong SP
and SSM mechanisms in the Cancun outcome on agriculture.
The G21 media conference, held after a Ministerial meeting of the
group during which a Ministerial Communique was adopted, was
addressed by the Ministers of Brazil, India, China, South Africa,
Argentina and Costa Rica. Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorin
said the meeting was a historic event in that so many developing
countries which represented over half the world population were
able to come together .
He said the Ministers agreed it is key to keep their unity which
will be tested throughout the Conference, and questions that may
appear secondary or procedural will be important. Amorin said the
G21 Ministers agreed that the Castillo draft does not respond to
their countries' needs and is not the basis for negotiations. It
is essential that the G21 paper is also taken as a basis and this
can be easily done as it follows the same format as the Castillo
paper. Added Amorin: "Ours is a good cause, we have the support
of our population and a large proportion of world opinion, this is
a chance for the WTO to show it cares for the poor."
India's Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley said the group's formation
was a very important ocassion as it marked an important point where
developing countries representing 65% of the world's population of
farmers, are attempting to put forward their own case. "our
document is not adequately addressed in the draft text and we will
work together to ensure our points are addressed."
South African Trade Minister Alec Erwin said it was historic the
Ministers could unify positions across such major agricultural
economies and exporters. They were fighting for a balance that
meets the requirements of a fair agriculture trading system with
the main adjustment burden lying with industrial countries that are
the main subsidizers.
The Chinese Trade Minister said the G21 proposal involves
developing countries' interests as the 21 countries represent 51%
of world population and over 60% of the of the rural population of
the world live in these countries. He hoped the Ministers would
consider the G21 text even as they are considering the Chairman's
draft. Cancun could only be a success if it fully takes account of
developing countries' interests.
The Argentinian Minister said the G21 proposal is both balanced and
professionally well done and when the Conference starts the
following day this paper must be accorded the same basis as the
Chair's text, and this was not just a procedural issue but part of
a constructive approach.
The Costa Rica Minister said it was very hard for Third World
farmers to compete not only with farmers from other countries, but
also with Finance Ministries of the rich countries. If Cancun is
to make progress on other issues, such as non-agriculture products,
we must have progress in agriculture too. ...
Jaitley stressed two points in the alliance -- it had numerical
backing (representing over half of humanity) and it is based on
fairness in addressing agriculturaql trade distortions. It would
thus attract others too. The Chinese Minister added that Cancun's
success depends on whether it follows the fair competition
principle and provides S and D for developing countries. The G21
proposal reflects this spirit and Cancun will succeed only if it
heeds this. ...
Ending the media conference, Amorin said in the past there was an
impression that fighting for social justice took place outside the
hall. But now the fight for social justice is also inside the WTO
and this is part of the historic moment. ,,,
Meanwhile, another meeting was held by 23 developing countries that
formed an Alliance for Strategic Products and Special Safeguard
Mechanism. Members include Barbados, Dominican Republic, Honduras,
Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Mnongolia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Panama, Peru, Philippines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda,
Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Ecuador.
In a Ministerial Communique, the countries said the Alliance
represents the interests of a majority of the world's small,
vulnerable, resource-poor farmers from developing countries across
the continents. Their countries suffer undue stress imposed by the
inequalities of the trading environment. Even on their own
markets, producers of developing countries face increasingly
difficult circumstances and impoverishment.
The Ministes reiterated the need for fundamental reform, including
reducing and phasing out export subsidies, substantial reductions
in trade distorting domestic support, and substantial improvements
in market access. For any reforms to be successful, S and D
treatment must be an integral part of all elements so they can take
account of development needs including food and livelihood security
and rural development.
While welcoming the Cancun draft's reflection of some developing
country concerns, the Ministers stressed the S and D component
falls far short. The Alliance proposal for an SP and SSM mechanism
must thus be an integral part of S and D. The Alliance proposal is
that:
- Developing countries shall have the flexibility to self
designate a ( ) percent of tariff lines as special products (SPs)
which shall not be subject to tariff reductions and no new
commitments on tariff rate quota.
- A special safeguard mechanism (SSM) shall be established for use
by developing countries as a mechanism to protect their domestic
markets against cheap and subsidized imports.
- Products designated as SP shall also have access to the SSM.
At the conference, the Indonesian Trade Minister said the 23
countries met to form the Alliance earlier today following their
earlier work in Geneva, aimed at having strong SP and SM mechanisms
in the agriculture outcome.
The Philippines Minister added it was very important that these
mechanisms be available to protect the local agriculture sector
from unfair competition from outside. ,,,
+++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
Date distributed (ymd): 030912
Region: Continent-Wide
Issue Areas: +political/rights+ +economy/development+
The Africa Policy E-Journal is a free information service
provided by Africa Action, including both original
commentary and reposted documents. Africa Action provides this
information and analysis in order to promote U.S. and
international policies toward Africa that advance economic,
political and social justice and the full spectrum of
human rights.
|
