| High-Level Brainstorming Meeting of African Trade Negotiators
Preparatory to the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference
Opening Statement by K. Y. Amoako Ambassador Vijay Makhan, Assistant Secretary General of the
Organisation of African Unity, On behalf of the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Mr. K.Y. Amoako, may I take this opportunity to welcome you all to Addis Ababa, the warm heart of Africa and home of the Economic Commission for Africa. The ECA is indeed greatly honoured to host this important meeting with our partners - the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) the AERC, WTO and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The large number of institutions hosting this workshop demonstrates the importance of trade as an engine of growth and the strength of international and regional commitment towards a global vision for a brighter future for Africa. Mr. Chairman, This workshop is taking place at an important time as Africa prepares for the Dohar-WTO Meetings because the recent spate of protests at the IMF/World Bank meetings in Prague and Washington and protests at the WTO meeting in Seattle have provoked a deepening of the debate on the global multilateral trading system. "Anti-globalists" have argued that trade has increased poverty in poor countries, that multinationals exploit foreign workers particularly women and children and that trade destroys the environment. "Pro-globalists" have talked about making globalisation work for the poor and touted the benefits of a rules-based multilateral trading system. The debate rages on - with many African countries expressing ambivalence towards an open trading regime because of perceived limitations in their ability to compete on equal footing with other countries. Equally they have expressed concerns that adjustment costs from trade liberalisation could be high. Although these concerns are understandable, at ECA we believe that substantial welfare gains are obtainable from more open and less distorted markets. The global gains from liberalisation of both agricultural and manufacturing industries is estimated at $123 billion a year with most of those gains (around three-quarters) going to developing countries. Furthermore, from the evidence we have accumulated on African economic performance at ECA it is clear that countries with more open economies have experienced faster growth, with greater gains from both specialisation and greater openness to advances in ideas and technology. Mr. Chairman, This workshop is taking place at an important time as Africa prepares for the Dohar-WTO meetings because the difficulties encountered in implementing existing Uruguay Round and WTO Agreements have raised serious concerns about the ability of many of our countries to benefit fully from these Agreements. For instance, compulsory licensing is protected under the WTO rules, the Paris convention and Article 32 of the TRIPS Agreement. Compulsory licensing allows modern generic drugs to be made available in developing countries by relaxing the intellectual property rights of the patent holder. Nonetheless, the world’s biggest pharmaceuticals recently attempted to stop South Africa from importing cheap generic copies of Highly Active Anti-retroviral Therapy (HAART) drugs for HIV/AIDS patients. The settlement that led the drug companies to abandon this attempt was brokered by Secretary General Kofi Annan and President Mbeki and not through the dispute resolution mechanism of the WTO. This example provides a vivid demonstration of the inequities in the current World trading system and the difficulties developing countries will face in implementing TRIPS agreements. Indeed, this has led some African countries to question the need for a new Trade Round. The rich industrial countries should realise that confidence in a rules-based trading system will depend largely on the willingness of the most powerful nations to live by WTO rules. Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, Having outlined the importance of this workshop please permit me to identify a few challenges that you will face in providing concrete advice to your Ministers on these complex and contentious issues. First, rich countries continue to subsidise their agricultural sectors to the tune of $360 billion a year, flooding markets and lowering prices world wide. This has stopped efficient farmers in Africa from realising their economic potential resulting in stagnating household incomes and greater poverty. It is well known that there are few "winners" from the high distortions in world agricultural markets. The market insulating polices deny consumers in industrial countries the benefits of competitively produced food and fibre from Africa, while rich country taxpayers are forced to subsidise high cost, often environmentally damaging production. It is therefore essential for both Africa and its trading partners to make progress in this area as we prepare for Doha and beyond. It is in this spirit that ECA welcomes the European Union’s recent proposal to grant LDC’s duty and quota free access for "Everything but Arms". Unfortunately, the EU proposal was swiftly attacked by powerful vested interests that succeeded in removing commodities such as sugar, rice and beef from the liberalisation commitments. This has led some critics to change the name of this initiative from "Everything but Arms" to "Everything but FARMS". The challenge as we prepare for Doha is to impress on our international partners the importance of making real progress towards market access for the poorest countries and in so doing balance the rights and obligations of all members of the WTO. A second challenge facing you as you prepare for Doha, is recent efforts by developed countries to introduce "new trade issues" onto the agenda of the WTO. The goal of the new trade issues is to ensure that domestic regulatory policies relating to product standards, environmental regulations, competition laws and the investment regime do not unnecessarily impede the ability of foreign suppliers to contest a market. African countries do not object to the basic tenets and principles of the new trade agenda. No one can argue about the importance of sustainable environment or the need to have a conducive investment environment or a competitive economic structure that provides a level playing field for all. However, caution is required because much of the new trade agenda revolves around domestic policies, where the burden of taking action rests on the shoulders of national governments. At the ECA we believe that ownership of economic policies is critical to successful development. Experience has shown that externally imposed policies often result in policy reversals. Therefore in the future we would support a multilateral approach to the new trade issues to the extent that it will assist governments to adopt domestic policies and regulatory regimes that are "home grown" and supportive of economic growth and development. Mr Chairman, The challenges that are posed by a knowledge-based world economy, a more open global trading system, and a rules-based multilateral trading system, place enormous demands on African countries. From analytical work done at the ECA and elsewhere it is clear that these challenges require countries to transform their production and trade structures, to take advantage of the opportunities generated by open markets. Mr Chairman, In reflecting on possible negotiating priorities for African countries, it is our view that a fundamental requirement of a successful multilateral agreement is that it ensures that there are large reductions in actual levels of market distorting protection and support in all countries. This can be achieved by:
I believe that success at Doha and beyond will depend largely on the extent to which the international community is able to show a commitment to create an equitable, rules-based multilateral trading system. I hope that Doha can move this process forward by ensuring that the meeting is inclusive of all members; is transparent in the agenda for the Ministerial Conference as well as modalities for reaching consensus on the issues under discussion. Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen May I assure you that the Economic Commission Africa (ECA) remains committed to working with African countries to become effective partners in an integrated global economy. In this respect, we look forward to continuing to provide rigorous and policy relevant advice to African countries in all the areas required for socio-economic development-----regional co-operation and integration, economic and social policy, development management, information and communications technology and food security and sustainable development. Mr. Chairman, I hereby declare this workshop open and wish you successful deliberations. Thank you. |