[Debate] No rush for an imperfect DOHA deal

[Dominic Tweedie]

[image: COSATUnewSmall]



*No rush for an imperfect DOHA deal*



*Patrick Craven, 26 May 2009*



COSATU commends the government’s stance not to rush to conclude Doha round.

The Doha round of multilateral world trade negotiations - the ‘development
round’ - was started in November 2001 and is now deadlocked due to
anti-developmental and imperialist tendencies of among others, the US and
the EU.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) commends the Department
of Trade and Industry for opposing the current Doha texts on agriculture and
industrial goods. In a statement released on 22 May 2009, it said that SA
would not rush for an imperfect Doha deal.

The promised benefits from the 1994 Uruguay round of negotiations have not
been felt by workers and the poor in developing countries including South
Africa. Studies on the benefits of the post-Doha round indicate that
developing countries will get little from liberalisation of trade and
reduction of tariffs as proposed in the current Doha texts on agriculture
and industrial goods.

World Bank economists have admitted that during periods of trade
liberalisation “… job destruction rates can be expected to proceed at a much
faster pace than job creation. Globalisation could therefore, be associated
with higher unemployment rates”.

Some of the major concerns against the current Doha round are:

·        The reduction in tariffs is biased in favour of developed
countries, as developing countries with higher tariffs would have to reduce
their tariffs more

·        The use of ‘tariff peaks’- higher tariffs against exports on
sensitive products from developing countries

·        Tariff escalation, whereby developed countries discourage and
prevent industrial development and processing in developing countries
through imposition of higher tariffs on processed and finished goods and
lesser tariffs on raw materials

·        Further liberalisation and reduction of tariffs in industrial goods
and agriculture, which will result in an increase in job losses and
exacerbate the current food crisis.

COSATU demands:

·        That there should be no commitment to complete the Doha round
unless all implementation issues that have prevented developing countries
from benefiting from the Uruguay Round trade liberalization are resolved to
the satisfaction of developing countries. The current world trade system is
so imbalanced that liberalisation does not provide the claimed benefits of
free market and free trade.

·        In light of the economic crisis, SA should reject the current text
on agriculture and Industrial goods and not offset any gains in these
sectors with commitments to open, deregulate and privatise the services
sector under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

·        SA should reverse its GATS commitments on the liberalisation and
deregulation of the financial sector.

·        SA should not sign off on any bilateral agreement as such an
agreement might undermine SA’s position at WTO and worsen the economic
crisis.



*Patrick Craven, COSATU Spokesperson, 082 821 7456, 011 339 4911,
patrick at cosatu.org.za*





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