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.