NGOs urge WTO reform to end exploitation
NGOs urge WTO reform to end exploitation
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali
Developing countries should fight for reform within the World
Trade Organization (WTO) to end the exploitation of developing
countries for the benefit of developed countries and their
corporations, according to non-governmental organization Third
World Network.
Third World Network executive director Martin Kohr said at a
discussion here over the weekend that reform of the WTO was also
necessary to allow sustainable development principles to be put
into practice.
"There should be efforts to correct the imbalance of the past
agreements leading to the WTO and giving more benefits to
developing countries," Kohr said.
The WTO, a multilateral organization regulating trade of goods
and services, has been viewed by antiglobalization activists as a
stumbling block to the implementation of sustainable development
principles.
The WTO has been accused of giving too much room for
multinational corporations to expand their businesses without
proper control.
Multinationals have been accused of contributing largely to
the unsustainable practices of production that eventually cause
ecological destruction.
The WTO, Kohr said, benefited developed countries more than
developing countries.
Some of the agreements on trade and investment, Kohr went on,
gave developing countries limited access to economic resources
and hampered economic growth.
Obligations for developing countries to liberalize their
markets had made it impossible for their local manufacturers to
compete with large multinational businesses from Northern
countries as their market would be flooded with cheap, mass-
produced products.
"They (the agreements) cause what I said was a burden for
developing countries to fulfill their obligations," he remarked.
The only benefit of the WTO for developing countries was its
promise of access for textile and agricultural products from
developing countries to developed countries.
Even so, developed countries cannot meet such a commitment.
The massive subsidies provided by developed countries to their
farmers had put pressure on agricultural companies in developing
countries. This situation keeps poor farmers in developing
countries poverty-stricken.
Again, developing countries lose out.
Therefore, Kohr said, it is necessary to put checks on the WTO
so that it cannot transgress into the interests of developing
countries.
He said the WTO should revert to its original aim of achieving
sustainable development.
The words "sustainable development" are incorporated in the
Marrakesh declaration, the basis for the establishment of the
WTO.
Supporting Kohr's argument, Victoria Corpuz of the
Philippines, another speaker at the session, cited trade
liberalization under the WTO had transferred people's rights to
big corporations.
"That has caused the Earth to suffer from overexploitation,"
she said, citing World Wildlife Fund (WWF) data, showing that the
planet Earth had lost one third of its natural resources.
Kohr called on developing countries to fight for more power
over WTO governance and in its decision-making.
He suggested that developing countries continue to pursue
their 100 proposals put forward during the WTO ministerial
meeting in Doha early this year.
"As soon as we can assure an equal share of economic
resources, then sustainable development can start," Kohr
underlined.
In addition to the WTO, Kohr also warned developing countries
to stay alert to developed countries' efforts to further
intervene in developing countries' affairs.
He called on developing countries to block three major
proposals for negotiation from developed countries, namely those
on national treatment for investment, on competition and on
government procurements.
If the proposals eventually go into the international agenda
of negotiations, either through the WTO or other means, it could
spell doomsday for developing countries, as they would no longer
have control over their own resources and people.