SP-SSM will boost South-South Trade: G-33

Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The Group 33 of developing nations defended its proposal for special and differential treatments at the WTO on Friday, saying it was necessary to protect nations' staple farm products and would help boost South-South trade.

Indonesian Ambassador to the WTO Gusmardi Bustami said the so- called Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism (SP-SSM) would work as an incentive for farmers in the developing world, which in turn would increase farm output and exports.

"South-South trade is growing and will continue to grow, especially when the SP concept is applied," Gusmardi said ahead of a G-33 ministerial meeting held in Jakarta on June 11-12.

Indonesia leads the group, which is fighting for SP-SSM in the WTO to protect key staple farm products, such as rice, sugar, soybeans and corn, from excessive cuts in customs duties in the WTO and the influx of cheap, heavily subsidized imports from developed countries.

The G-33, which is now an alliance of 42 developing countries, has a goal of ensuring that the issues of food security, livelihood security and rural development become an integral part of the current WTO trade negotiations and outcome -- as called upon by the Doha Development agenda.

The two-day meeting is intended for ministers to meet and strengthen the group's coordination, strategy and positions -- particularly in the details of SP-SSM implementation proposal -- for the negotiation process in the WTO.

"The ministers are expected to come up with a political guidance for G-33 negotiators in the talks towards the sixth WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December," Gusmardi said.

In a negotiation session on agriculture last week in Geneva, the group had presented a proposal of the principles and practical details on how to implement the SP-SSM concept.

The group put forward a set of parameters for the SSM, including that the SSM measure should be automatically triggered in the cases of surging imports volume or swings in international prices -- applicable to all farm products.

The group also proposed that Special Products should also have access to the Special Safeguard Mechanism. Special products would not have to be subject to tariff reductions and "neither of these goods can be subject to commitments on tariff rate quota (TRQ)."

In response, several WTO members have expressed their objections. The United States, for example, opposed the exemption of SPs from tariff reduction saying such a move could hamper efforts to open market access between members.

The U.S. and New Zealand also questioned the need for having both price and volume triggers in the SSM.

This weekend's meeting comes about a month before the deadline of the WTO members to decide on the preliminary agenda for upcoming December Ministerial meeting.

The meeting will feature a presentation of statements and demands from the Institute for Global Justice (IGJ), which represents nine Indonesian farmer groups and non-governmental organizations.

In a statement to The Jakarta Post, IGJ said that the G-33 and its SP-SSM proposal was still limited and weak, and failed to reflect the interests of food sovereignty, rural development and poverty eradication.

"There are still conflicting interest among G-33 countries, which raises doubts over the consistency of this bloc in the WTO. As a result, Indonesia, as the coordinator of the G-33 is often faced with difficulties," it said.