Globalisation done gently

Developing countries are being promised a more development-friendly new round of multilateral trade talks. Niveen Wahish listened to Pascal Lamy, European commissioner for trade, as he outlined the main features of the upcoming negotiations
Lamy
In June 1999, Sir Leon Brittan, vice-president of the European Commission, came to Cairo to convince Egyptian officials of the importance of a new global round of trade negotiations to be launched at the Seattle ministerial meeting. This week, Pascal Lamy, the European commissioner for trade, was in Cairo on a similar task. He was rallying support for a new round of multilateral trade talks to be launched during the World Trade Organisation's ministerial meeting scheduled to take place in Doha, Qatar, in November.
"The support of important emerging economies in key continents throughout the world is crucial if we are to get the WTO going again. Egypt is one such country," he said during a meeting with Egyptian businessmen. Lamy said Egypt's importance lies in that it plays a key role in Arab, African and Islamic circles and is a "heavyweight among developing countries."
With the failure of the Seattle meeting, what are Doha's chances for success? Lamy is optimistic. Attributing the Seattle fiasco to the north-south divide on trade issues, he hopes the new round will be more development friendly.
The 1999 Seattle event broke up in confusion. Not only was it bruised by demonstrations on the streets, but disputes between Europe and the United States over agriculture and between rich and poor countries over labour and environmental standards brought it to a halt.
Having pinpointed the problem, Lamy offers the broad lines of a solution. He told Al-Ahram Weekly, "We have to bridge more of this north-south divide on trade."
In a speech delivered to the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, he pointed out that changes should be introduced to the WTO system to integrate developing countries into the world trading system and that the poverty gap must be reduced. "The trading system [has to be made] more responsive towards the interests of developing countries."
For the Doha talks to succeed, Lamy believes the development dimension must take centre stage. To that end, Lamy said he has been given the green light by the European Council and the European Parliament to take action on a number of issues that would make the EU position more development friendly.
To start with, he pointed out that "industrialised countries have to let down their protectionist measures in sectors where developing countries have a comparative advantage, such as in the areas of textiles and agriculture." To prove its good intentions, the EU is ready to provide greater market access for exports of textiles and agriculture from developing countries, "provided negotiations take place and there is a trade-off," Lamy said.
In the meantime, the EU has approved the "duty-free, quota-free" initiative for the least developed countries. And it is also in the process of improving its own trade regime by reviewing the general preferential systems for developing countries.
Lamy's declarations during his meetings with Egyptian officials and businessmen on his three-day visit gave the message that the issues plaguing developing countries would be revisited once a new round gets under way. He pointed out a number of matters on which the EU has "moved in the direction of developing countries."
Among those issues are the investment and competition rules, which he sees as indispensable for more secure and transparent market access and a predictable climate for foreign direct investment.
According to Lamy, the EU is ready to assume a more flexible position towards the developing countries that cannot comply with WTO rules. The EU now accepts that if these countries think they cannot cope with "the threshold of rules which we believe the WTO needs, they need not step in". However, he stressed that those countries still need to take part in the negotiations, so that a correct decision can be made on whether they actually do need more time to adjust.
Another area of concern for developing countries has been the protectionist measures taken by advanced countries against the former's products for social and environmental reasons.
Lamy emphasised that WTO regulations in the environmental area exist "so that individual governments are unable to use the environment as a trade barrier." He assured that no change of rules, but only clarifications, will be made during the trade talks.
On labour issues, "we have made it extremely clear that we are not looking for new rules, nor for sanctions, but for a better dialogue between the ILO and the WTO," he said.
Regarding the implementation of the Uruguay Round agreements, an area in which industrial countries claim developing countries are lagging behind, Lamy said that "if there are areas where clarifications or a longer transition period are needed, we are ready, but this will have to take place in the course of the negotiations."
The EU's keenness to initiate a new round of trade talks does not only stem from its eagerness to gain more market access, Lamy said. Trade liberalisation is a win-win game, provided access is regulated. "We want globalisation to be honest, accompanied by rules," he said. These rules will provide protection for the weakest in the game, he elucidated.
Moreover, Lamy believes a multilateral trading system is more advantageous to developing countries than a bilateral system. "Negotiation power is better served around the table of multilateral talks than in bilateral deals," he said.
Recommend this page
Related stories:
Wary of Seattle - 25 August 1999
'On the train to Seattle' 10 - 16 June 1999
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
Send a letter to the Editor