Ongoing meetings in preparation for WTO talks in Hong Kong in December are a chance for Africa to tackle gross injustices and imbalances in global trade, writes Gamal Nkrumah Is this the right time for Africa to tackle prickly global trade questions? If so, then how? These are among the most pertinent questions facing the continent today. The answer to the first question is an emphatic yes. The upcoming World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting provides a golden opportunity for decision- makers in Africa to press ahead with their goal of making international trade a vehicle for economic development. Indeed, the continent has put together a final package -- or final communiqué -- for the WTO ministerials in Hong Kong in December 2005. At the consultative gathering of African trade ministers held in Cairo this week, African trade ministers pledged to "build momentum in a way that ensures a safe landing in Hong Kong and a successful development-oriented outcome that faithfully fulfils the expectation of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) in 2006." Trade ministers were keen to "underline the immense efforts Africa has exerted to liberalise its trade regime both regionally and multilaterally", conceding that the "Doha Development Agenda is passing through a critical time." Africa's main concern is trade-distorting agricultural subsidies. But what are the defining features of the DDA? The DDA transpired during the Doha WTO ministerial meeting in 2001 where delegates decided to agree on special and differential treatment for developing countries. The DDA aims at correcting and preventing restrictions and distortions in international agricultural markets. It attempts to establish a fair and market-oriented trading system. But is this latter goal not a contradiction in terms? The global trade system is inherently unfair; it works against poor, underdeveloped countries. Are African governments naïve in thinking they can harness globalisation to further their own interests? There are many on the continent who believe that it is almost impossible to integrate African economies into the world economy on an equitable basis. Africa has come a long way since the collapse of the Cancun WTO ministerial meetings last year. African countries are working more closely with other developing nations in Asia and South America. They not only push for the DDA to be implemented, but they are looking into other issues, such as the WTO Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMs). Most of all, they want to democratise decision-making in global trade matters. In past meetings, Africa's trade ministers reviewed a status report on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) under negotiation between African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the European Union (EU) as part of the Cotonou Agreement. They also analysed a report on the implementation of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA III) -- a US trade agreement giving special preferences to Africa. But again the main concern of African trade ministers is the ruinous impact of trade- distorting subsidies enforced by governments of the wealthy nations of the global north. South African Trade Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa was highly critical of subsidies handed out by rich countries to their farmers. "While we recognise that governments have a responsibility to assist specific groups in society, this should not be done through instruments that distort trade and the ability of African farmers to export or sell into the domestic market," Mpahlwa told reporters in Johannesburg. The EU's annual $1.5 billion sugar subsidy, for example, ruins the economies of many an African nation. While Europe has strongly resisted upsetting its farming communities, Washington has offered to cut its main trade-distorting farm subsidies by 60 per cent over the next five years. At Cancun, the EU and the US expressed unease about the emergence of new configurations of developing countries that challenge their dominance. Especially threatening for the West was the Group of 21 -- the so-called G21 steered by Brazil, China, India and South Africa. These countries formed a formidable bloc that has pushed hard for advancing the interests of developing countries in international forums. "The challenge of responsibility weighs on the EU and US who must move towards making serious concessions, avoid making excessive demands on developing countries and put the concerns of African countries at the centrepiece of a renewed framework," warned Irungu Houghton, pan-Africa adviser for Oxfam. Africa is also working closely with G21 nations to achieve Millennium Development Goals, due to be discussed at the next round of trade talks in Hong Kong in December. G21 nations have proposed that the rich, highly industrialised nations be categorised according to their overall trade-distorting support. They recommend that rich countries that provide subsidies or any other kind of aid to their farmers exceeding $60 billion cut that support by 80 per cent. Those with $10-60 billion levels of support are urged to cut back by 75 per cent, and those with $10 billion to cut subsidies by 70 per cent. Immediate action is called for. All are agreed that a successful Hong Kong ministerial meeting will be measured by its development outcomes not its rhetoric.
