Developing countries last week reasserted their eagerness to speedily conclude the Doha Development Agenda, so long as their interests are protected, Niveen Wahish reports It has become the norm for Egypt to hold an African trade ministers meeting ahead of major World Trade Organisation (WTO) conferences. It did so ahead of the 2005 Hong Kong ministerial meeting and again last week, ahead of the ministerial meeting in Geneva scheduled for the end of this month. One clear message that ran throughout dialogue is that development is Africa's top priority in this round of trade negotiations. And as Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid put it, development is not a "gift that we should be thankful for... nor is it a concession to be bargained for." Africa's quest to get organised comes against the backdrop of what Rachid described as concern over "the divergence" between signals sent that offer to conclude the Doha negotiations in 2010 and current negotiating positions advocated by some in Geneva that developing countries believe contradict the original Doha Development Agenda (DDA) mandate. According to Naresh Servansing, permanent representative of the Republic of Mauritius at the WTO, "there is something really dangerous happening; we are backtracking on many issues." He gave an example by saying that market access for developed countries into developing countries' markets is being prioritised while "it is the contrary that should happen." He said that the developed world is also backtracking on agriculture negotiations where developing countries have their sights set. "They [the developed world] are fighting for flexibility to protect their markets and we are not happy with that." Servansing pointed out that what developing countries have succeeded to do so far is reach an agreement to eliminate export subsidies by 2013. Two other agriculture-related hurdles remain: market access for agriculture where "we have made huge progress but we still have a long way to go," and domestic support where "serious cutting" is needed. Servansing asserted that although developing countries are at different levels of development, where some are substantial agriculture exporting countries while others are not exporting yet, he said "we have decided not to look at what divides us, as there is much more that unites us." Greater integration into the global trading system is believed to be the way forward for Africa's developing countries. Yet global trade has been drastically affected by the economic and financial crisis as well as by growing trends towards protectionism in the post-crisis period. The communiqué issued by the African ministers said the African Development Bank estimates that losses in export revenues for the African continent will reach $251 billion in 2009 and $277 billion in 2010. Tanzanian Minister for Industry, Trade and Marketing Mary Nagu told journalists following the ministerial meeting African countries wanted greater global integration not only through a successful conclusion of the DDA but also through smooth and simplified WTO accession procedures for countries not yet members. She pointed out that "we want more African countries to accede to the WTO" in order to increase Africa's voice and voting power. Faisal Ismail, head of South Africa's delegation to the WTO, lamented that developing countries have been calling for the DDA to be concluded for a long time. "Our concern is that the round is long, and each time it is delayed it is because developed countries do not have sufficient support domestically to fulfil the commitments they already made in Doha to reform their agriculture and to change the rules of the game so that it's fairer." In the meantime, developing countries remain steadfast. "So far we have been relatively successful in ensuring that our interests are being put at the forefront at each stage of the negotiations," Ismail said, adding: "I am very hopeful that this unity among developing countries will continue until we conclude the round on its development mandate." Ismail pointed out that the current distortions in the global trade of agriculture have been caused by subsidies paid by developed countries to their farmers, giving their farmers an unfair advantage in global markets. "Our broad objective is to create a fairer trade environment so that the prices of agricultural products reflect market forces, so developing countries -- including a large number of African agricultural countries -- will then be able to market their produce." While this could initially mean a bigger bill for net food importers like Egypt, because some agricultural goods prices will change, Ismail said that in the long run it would mean that a large number of African and developing countries could develop their production capacity. "The price paid by net food producing countries, which includes quite a few African countries, is one that we have to address. And we have to find ways of cooperating with each other so that we can ensure that we satisfy their food security needs." Dan Owoko of the Kenyan mission to the WTO said that developing countries would lose faith in the system if the world does not reach a consensus on the DDA. "We have invested so much over the years and we are not prepared to see it go down the drain," he said, adding: "We have heard talk that 2010 is a target year. We hope this is not just another way to keep us in the round for the sake of keeping us in the round." African and developing countries have done their part, Owoko said. "Many African countries are willing to make sacrifices that they never anticipated in a development round." Pascale Lamy, WTO director-general, speaking to a small group of journalists after the conference said that "it is feasible to wrap this negotiation by 2010." He pointed out that "the G20 leaders want this to be finalised in 2010. This is what they said at the meetings in London and Pittsburgh." And they have asked their ministers to report where they are at the beginning of next year, he added. "This high level political involvement is important so that this round does not disappear from the centre of the radar screen." On the urgency to conclude the round, Owoko noted that the issue of climate change is moving up the global agenda fast. Over the coming months, he said, issues of climate change will gain far more impetus. Thus, "there is an urgent need for us to conclude the Doha round, in order to be more focussed on climate change. Short of that Doha will be in danger."
