1 April 2011 – Keith recently attended the ‘Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organisation’ to hear a progress report on the latest round of trade talks, known as ‘the Doha Round’.
As a member of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee Keith was invited to this event which, for the first time ever, took place at the WTO’s Geneva building. The conference is held to increase the WTO’s accountability to elected decision makers.
Commenting on the event Keith said: “Despite having started in 2001 these talks are still stalled, following disputes between US, China, Brazil & India. WTO officials still cling to hope that the talks will be signed off this year, but I fear they may be grasping at straws. In any event even if agreement is reached I think it’s unlikely that the original concepts behind the project will be delivered.”
He continued: “The stated intent of the so-called ‘Doha round’ was to further liberalise trade increase globalisation, break down trade barriers and slash subsidies. But these negotiations are fundamentally flawed. They do not take account of the global economic crisis and only make passing references to sustainable development. The threats of climate change are simply omitted.”
“The idea that increasing the amount of global trade will effectively counter world poverty and bolster the economies of the least developed countries – irrespective of the effects on resources and climate – is a fallacy.
“The Doha Development Agenda has already failed the world’s poorest people. A mounting body of evidence shows that the current WTO deal will result in overall losses for the least developed countries, as well as serious damage to vital agricultural and industrial sectors in many other countries. Estimates suggest that up to 230 million more people may have been forced into extreme poverty because of the financial crisis, yet the WTO proposals would encourage the deregulation that underpinned this crisis.”
“By inviting elected representatives to the WTO in Geneva this organization has taken a small step towards being more open. But it is shocking that the WTO does not function more democratically, with greater transparency and accountability. Despite having numerous committees to discuss trading details, most actual decisions are taken informally behind closed doors. These meetings usually totally exclude WTO members representing developing countries. This undemocratic process should not be allowed to continue when the future of some of the world’s poorest people is at stake.”
