[asia-apec 1828] Food First: November 10th Doha Report

[Anuradha Mittal]

THE DOHA REPORT
by Anuradha Mittal
November 10, 2001

---------------------------------------
Anuradha Mittal , Co-Director of Food First, is in Doha, Qatar 
attending the WTO Ministerial Conference and representing 
the voices of people from developing nations. 

Daily Doha Reports can be found at:
http://www.foodfirst.org/progs/global/trade/wto2001/updates.html

Other WTO Info and News Coverage can be found at:
http://www.foodfirst.org/progs/global/trade/wto2001
---------------------------------------

As I headed out of my heavily guarded hotel this morning, which
is housing the U.S. delegation, a Qatari security official stopped
me. He said, "You were protesting yesterday. I saw you on the
television. Your protest was very important to let others know
that not everyone is happy with the WTO."

This sentiment has been echoed several times by Qatari officials and
cab drivers as well as the local and national media present here.
The proceedings of the second day at the Ministerial make the
cause of this sentiment obvious.

The US Trade Representative Office organized a briefing for the
US NGOs this morning. After yesterday's incident, where they
discovered much to their chagrin, that I, an Indian national,
was representing a U.S. NGO and housed at the same hotel, the
invitation to the briefing read: Please bring your NGO credential
and your U.S. passport for entry. I was ready for a conflict
if I was stopped given I am representing a U.S. group that represents
a larger constituency than the USTR's small corporate lobby.
I was not stopped this time.

Nao Matsukata, representative of the USTR, started the briefing
by praising Ambassador Zoellick's efforts to understand the concerns
of the Third World countries through bilateral meetings prior
to the Doha meetings. He claimed that the U.S. shared the same 
objectives of market access as the developing nations and therefore had 
much in common.

What Mr. Matsukata failed to mention was that while Mr. Zoellick
has been trying to negotiate deals with developing nations,
he is not empowered to make binding commitments on behalf of
the U.S.  Article I-8 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress,
the Legislative Branch, exclusive authority over setting the
terms of trade agreements. The President and the Trade Representative
do not have any such authority unless Congress delegates
such power to them.

Several NGO representatives spent the day advising Third
World delegates that Congress has not only refused to delegate
trade authority to the Bush administration through Fast Track,
but also on November 6, Congress passed a resolution forbidding
USTR's Zoellick from agreeing to anti-dumping language in the Harbinson 
text. The message of this lobbying was clear: Please don't compromise 
your country's interests in exchange for empty promises.

The developing nations are beginning to see the hollowness
of promises of transparency and accountability at Doha. The Green
Room process of Seattle, which led to protests inside the meetings
to strengthen the protests outside, has taken a new form and
shape here. The parallel track process being followed is
a plenary where every country has 5 minutes to make a statement.
The other track focuses on six issues: Agriculture, Implementation,
Environment, Rules, Singapore Issues (Competition and Investment)
and Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The 
representatives have 3 minutes to intervene. Then a facilitator (also 
called Friend of the Chair, already appointed through the WTO 
Secretariat)will unilaterally follow up with countries most concerned 
with the text. These facilitators belong to the following countries:

Agriculture-facilitator-Singapore
Implementation-facilitator-Switzerland
Environment-facilitator-Canada
Rules- facilitator-South Africa
Singapore Issues-facilitator-Chile
TRIPS-facilitator-Mexico


These facilitators are not neutral. For example, much to the
disappointment of countries like India and Brazil, a delegate
from Mexico facilitates TRIPS while it also sides with the U.S.
and Switzerland's position on Intellectual Property Rights.
The Green Room has now shrunk into a Green Person and reflects
a process which clearly discriminates against developing
countries.

In the afternoon Geneva-based South Center, a permanent 
intergovernmental organization of the developing countries, organized a 
briefing on the lack of democratic process in the WTO. Speaking at the 
briefing, the Tanzanian Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Iddi
Simba, who is also representing the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
said, "We have come to Doha to launch a development agenda. Our attitude 
to new issues such as investment and competition is that we do not have 
the capacity to negotiate. Even if our arms are twisted, we cannot. The 
opt in and opt out option is totally unacceptable. We will oppose it."

The pressure on Third World countries by the powerful trading
nations and threats related to aid, debt relief, and being branded
as deal breakers responsible for furthering global recession
is immense. This pressure is being countered by growing protests
around the world that support the Third World concerns regarding
the impact of trade rules on poverty and sustainable development.

It is obvious that the WTO can run, but can't hide. The global
civil society whether present in Doha or protesting in the streets
of Delhi, Manila, or San Francisco is determined that our
struggle today is the start of the process and not the end.

In peace and solidarity,
Anuradha

For more information, to order Food First Books,or to join our member-supported organization, go to:
http://www.foodfirst.org.  
Or send your tax-deductible check to:
Food First, 398 60th St. Oakland, CA 94618

==^================================================================
This email was sent to: asia-apec at jca.ax.apc.org

EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://igc.topica.com/u/?aVxil2.aVxCnz
Or send an email to: fianusa-news-unsubscribe at igc.topica.com

T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail!
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register
==^================================================================