RP Rice NGO hits US press on WTO group of developing countries

March 21, 2007

Jakarta, Indonesia – Farmers and civil society organizations led by Rice Watch and Action Network (R1) criticized the presence of US trade representatives and European Union Ambassador Peter Mandelson in the meeting of G33 or group of developing countries in the WTO.

“We believe that the US and EU, who are not members of G33 are once again creating underhanded pressure to deny the developing countries of the right to protect their agricultural sector,” said Jessica Reyes-Cantos, R1 lead convenor.

R1 organized the meeting of farmers and civil society organizations from Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea and Brazil during the G33 Ministers’ meeting in Jakarta. Luisita Esmao from the Pambansang Kilusan ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK) reads the statement of the farmers and civil society organizations to the Ministers and senior officials of the G33 member-states today.

The statement also calls for substantial reduction in trade distorting subsidies of the US, EU and other developed countries in their agricultural products.

“G33 should also aggressively push for substantial reduction if not total elimination of the US, EU and other developed countries’ domestic support and subsidies to their agriculture. Our farmers are unfairly competing with their subsidized agriculture goods flooding our local markets,” said Cantos.

Cantos said the US continues to criticize the Special Products (SPs) and Special Safeguards Mechanism (SSM) in its public statements and accused the G33 of delaying the conclusion of the Doha Development Round.

“Several members of the WTO blamed the US’ intransigence on its trade-distorting agriculture subsidies for the suspension of WTO talks last year. The US has not only delivered its part in the trade negotiation, it is now even shifting the blame on G33’s firm position on the agriculture flexibilities.

SPs and SSM are flexibility measures in the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture to ensure that food security, livelihood security and rural development objectives of developing countries are protected.

Special Products

The Jakarta meeting of farmers and civil society also presented to the G33 ministers its call to make sure that the coverage of SPs that will be protected from liberalization should comprise 20 percent or more of all agricultural tariff lines in the developing countries.

“These SPs should not be subject to tariff reduction or TRQ commitments and should have higher levels of protection by increasing tariffs higher than the bound rates and imposing quantitative restrictions on importation, when necessary,” said Cantos.

Special Safeguard Mechanism

The group also urges the G33 to ensure that all agricultural products should have access to SSM because import surges and price fluctuations affect every product. The SSM proposal allows each country to define the level of import surge once the volume or price trigger is breached.

“The SSM duties should not be confined to the current bound rates. We should have the flexibility to impose quantitative restrictions in case of import surge or price fluctuation,” said Cantos.

Free Trade Agreements 

Cantos said the farmers from Korea, Indonesia, Philippines expressed their concern with the unbalanced Free Trade Agreements that their countries have signed with different trading partners.

“The G33 governments should recast all FTAs in a manner consistent with SP and SSM and protect our livelihoods from liberalized trade,” said Cantos.

Unilateral liberalization

Cantos urges the G33 governments to stop the voluntary liberalization of agriculture because this has caused undue suffering to poor women and men farmers, indigenous people, fisherfolk and other agricultural stakeholders in developing countries.

“We need increasing domestic support instead of heightening liberalization. Our governments’ foremost responsibility is to protect their people’s food security and livelihood in the light of increasing trade liberalization,” said Cantos.

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