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“We need to go
beyond ‘technical assistance’ if developing and least developed countries
are to benefit from the multilateral trading system,” said John Cuddy,
Director, Division on International Trade in Goods and Services and Commodities
of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Cuddy was speaking at
the closing session of an international workshop on “Negotiating Agenda for
Market Access: Cases of Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Measures and Technical
Barriers to Trade”. The event was organised by the Jaipur, India-based CUTS
Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment, with the
cooperation of UNCTAD and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable
Development, Geneva.
The event was organised in Geneva on 24-25
April 2001. More than 70 participants from civil society organisations,
government officials, academics and representatives of trade missions in Geneva
participated in the meeting. Officials from the WTO (World Trade Organisation)
and the UNCTAD secretariat also participated and spoke on the occasion.
Most importantly, case studies were presented by experts from the
developing world, such as Kenya, Nepal, Uganda, Mozambique, Chile, Zambia,
Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India.
“This is the first
time I have been hearing ground realities. In the meetings of the WTO Committee
on SPS we hardly discuss such cases as we do not have access to ground
realities,” said Erik Wijkstrom, Economic Affairs Officer of Agriculture and
Commodities Division of the WTO.
Wijkstrom was
referring to various presentations of case studies on the difficulties of
getting market access in industrialised countries due to increasing use of SPS
and TBT measures. The event provided a fertile platform for the experts to
present ground realities in implementing the provisions of WTO agreements on SPS
and TBT.
“The main
criticisms against the global standard setting process were lack of transparency
and participation of consumer organisations,” expressed Allan Asher, Global
Campaigns Director of Consumers International, London, UK.
Hector Torres of
the Argentinean trade mission at Geneva drew attention to the fact that
developing countries have comparative advantage in agricultural exports but they
cannot utilise this advantage under the present system.
“The opportunities
offered by the WTO Agreement on Agriculture were not being realised properly
because of market access barriers that these countries are facing due to
improper use of standards” said Torres.
While presenting a
study on the European Union ban on exports of shrimp products from Bangladesh on
health grounds, Mustafizur Rahman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, Dhaka,
Bangladesh highlighted the adverse effects of the ban on the country’s
economy, its foreign exchange earnings, the employment of small fishermen etc.
“The cost of
compliance with EU’s standards was too high. If a product is perfect for
domestic consumption why can it not be considered for consumption abroad”,
asserted Rahman.
In 1997, the ban was
imposed on the ground that exports of this commodity did not meet the stringent
provisions of the European Community’s HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control
Point) regulations. It put the country’s shrimp export industry under severe
strain and led to serious market disruptions from which the country is still
trying to recover. The cost was equivalent to US$ 65.1 million.
“During the last
three years, the country has witnessed two bans of its fish from the Lake
Victoria into the EU market. They had adverse impact on the fish industry, in
terms of foreign exchange earnings, income and employment generation. Following
the ban, about 4,000 people (let alone small fishermen who could not find a
market for their catch) were suspended from work,” said Flora Musonda of the
Economic and Social Research Foundation, Dar Es Salaam. She presented a case
study on the impact of implementing the WTO Agreement on SPS and fish exports
from Tanzania.
Tanzania lags
behind in complying with the provisions of the SPS Agreement because of
insufficient technical know-how and human and financial resources and
facilities. She called for institutional strengthening of the Fisheries
Department through training of fish quality assurance and control staff,
provision of communication and transport facilities to enhance logistical
capacity etc.
Thomas Cottier of the Institute of European and International Economic
Law, University of Berne, Switzerland spoke about the concerns of developing
countries while implementing the provisions of the TBT Agreement. He pointed out
that there was not only lack of analytical capacity of the national focal points
but also little coordination between various stakeholders.
Elisabeth Tuerk of
the Centre for International Environmental Law, Geneva, Switzerland presented a
study on the dispute of asbestos exports from Canada to the European Union. She
explained the implications of the dispute for the developing countries and what
lessons could be learned.
Speaking at the
inaugural, Carlos Fortin, Deputy Secretary General of UNCTAD applauded the
initiative that CUTS has taken in bringing forth the views of developing and
least developed countries on WTO rules.
Fortin urged CUTS to
prepare a proactive and positive agenda on the issues and organise similar
events in Geneva in future. “This is an education for us and required for the
benefit of the multilateral trading system as a whole.”
“CUTS should
organise similar events in Geneva on issues of rules of origin, anti-dumping etc
and implement a programme on WTO rules and market access in developing and least
developed countries by forming a network of civil society organisations,
academics, research institutes, representatives of inter-governmental
organisations etc”, said Mina Mashayekhi, Legal Officer of the International
Trade Division of UNCTAD.
“The initiative is
not only the need of the hour but with specific case studies the exercise will
feed into the process of setting the agenda for the Doha Ministerial Conference
of the WTO,” said a trade diplomat from a large developing country. The
Ministerial Conference will be held at Doha, Qatar in November 2001 and
developing countries are coming up with a set of proactive agenda.
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