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No solution in sight
Al-Ahram Hebdo, December 08, 2009

"Concluding the Doha Round in 2010 became a challenge, but it can itself be an engine for serious work on the part of member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO), thus Pascal Lamy has closed the seventh Ministerial Conference in Geneva last Wednesday. Nobody expected more.

Representatives of 151 Member States were content to prepare a report summarizing the work of three days of the conference. This indicates, as noted by Nicolas Bullard, the NGO Focus on the Global South, "the failure of the WTO and its members to provide practical solutions. Participants have that talk and discuss. Everyone in his direction. Nothing more will be presented. And developing countries, however, insist that canceling the subsidies to agriculture, especially cotton, is essential to conclude Doha. A variance under which the dispute will continue, "said Bullard.

Before the conference, the eyes were certainly no great hope to the United States. Nothing new has happened to that side. Same position, Washington has no intention to cede an inch. The U.S. Trade Representative, Ron Kirk, has hammered at the beginning and the end of the conference. "The United States has conceded much to help their partners in developing countries. Now is the turn to other WTO members to do so. The WTO does not consist only of the United States. "

He explained that for the 4 poor countries heavily dependent on cotton, C4, namely Benin, Chad, Mali and Burkina Faso, even if the United States are opening their markets, their cotton does can not win. For the simple reason, as he says, they can not cope with fierce competition from China, India and other emerging powerhouses. "Thus we prefer to submit their assistance in the form of financial grants and technical assistance, enabling them to improve their skills." Adding that over the next 10 years, emerging powerhouses contribute up to 58% of global growth. "Thus, African countries and C4 should help us convince the emerging powers - India, China and Brazil - to open their markets."

Divide and conquer

"Kirk's message is a pot of wine veiled" Judge Atul Kaushik, CUTS of an international nongovernmental organization bent on development issues. As he said: "You (the African and C4), you get what you want, but if you help us convince the other group of countries developing their markets open."

The United States, realizing the growing strength of disputes blocks, then began to manipulate it to divide. They try to convince them that their interests are not the same.

But this time, developing countries have managed to find them a common platform on which to base common interests and therefore their claims also remain common. We saw the group of Cairns Group of countries exporting agricultural products which were mobilized in favor of trade liberalization in this sector, which met several times before and at the 7th Ministerial order to establish their claims.

African countries themselves have also met to unify their positions and issued the Cairo agenda, enumerating a list of their basic rights.

The block developed, however, continue to play on the differences of interests within the South Group. Especially among the major emerging economies like India, Brazil and China and the rest of the country. However, these attempts have not been split fruit so far. For, as said Hisham Badr, Egyptian Permanent Representative to the WTO and United Nations: "The merger between a small number of countries will facilitate future reconciliation wider.

In fact, 22 developing countries have signed an agreement for the 20% reduction of tariffs between them on 80% of their exports. An agreement which, according to UNCTAD, will generate savings of LE 8 billion for this group of countries. This agreement was a clear response to the developed countries especially the United States: developing countries will remain a single block.

On the other side, last Friday, two days after the conference, the Caribbean and the Pacific have finally, after 16 years of face to face with the European Union, have extracted the conclusion of agreement terminating. Both parties have agreed to reduce rates paid on exports of bananas. Thus the banana farmers will get compensation of 4.031 billion dollars. But the magnitude of the subject files of differences on this concession is only a few crumbs for the countries development.

The future of the Doha Round remains hostage to the dispute, as the standoff between the power developed and the developing persistent. Kaushik, for its part, that unless the United States and the European Union, nothing can be concluded, because until now, these two forces control about 70% of world trade.

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