15 - 21 November 2001
Issue No.560
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 15 - 21 November 2001 Issue No.560 |
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Doha dwarfed by disaster
While concerns over the US-led war in Afghanistan preceded the WTO meeting, its conclusion coincided with the drama surrounding the crash of an American jetliner over New York, writes Ayman Ali from Doha
Although the fourth ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) held in Doha this week may not have succeeded in its ultimate goal of sorting through the thorny issues obstructing the launch of a new round of global trade negotiations, its very convening, given the restrictive security situation, was hailed as a victory of sorts.
The run-up to the event was characterised by tension, particularly after guards gunned down a man, forty-eight hours before the convening of the meeting. The victim was an allegedly deranged Qatari civilian, who opened fire at an airbase used by US warplanes. There were unconfirmed reports of injuries among American soldiers guarding the base, which is entirely under US jurisdiction.
With the incident contained, 4,000 attendees assembled in a hermetically sealed area of the Qatari capital, Doha, for the meeting's opening session. The presence of NGOs in Doha was restricted to just 500 activists, a far cry from the days of Seattle, Gothenburg, and Genoa. Each group or organisation attending, were restricted by a maximum representation of two people. the chief contributing factor to the avoidance of riots such as those that disrupted the 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle.
As the meeting drew to a close, the news of the New York plane crash gripped the attention of all and security concerns mounted in anticipation of a possible terrorist plot behind the incident. Despite this, delegates focused their efforts on working out positive resolutions. With the events of September 11 having plunged the already deteriorating global economy into almost terminal gloom, the consensus in Doha was on avoiding a further stand off in trade disputes.
On the bright side, China and Taiwan formally acceded to the WTO. China's entry marks the entry of 1.3 billion people into the WTO market. WTO membership will open more markets for China's rapidly expanding economy but will also expose its inefficient, over- staffed industries to merciless foreign competition as tariffs are lowered and trade barriers gradually torn down.
Taiwan is the world's 14th largest trading economy and negotiated entry for an initial12 year period. China considers Taiwan a renegade province and has threatened to invade if the island declares independence. To dodge the sensitive political issue, Taiwan will formally enter the WTO as the "separate customs territory" of China, which includes Taiwan's offshore islands of Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
Another positive development in Doha was the reaching of an agreement on redefining the previously agreed rules on drug patents known as the TRIPS agreement. This will give under-developed countries greater access to drugs without discouraging major drug companies from investing in research to develop new cures.
The property rights of drug patents were one of the thornier issues between rich and poor, but it was not the sole one. Five working groups -- on agriculture, investment, the environment, intellectual property rules and the implementation of previous agreements -- were set up to hammer out compromises. But initial closed-session skirmishes -- and formal speeches by ministers setting out their countries' stance -- gave little sign that any of the key players were ready to move off their starting positions. Many poorer countries said they had yet to see the benefits -- including better market access -- from previous pacts to liberalize trade, while most industrialised states were urging even freer commerce to fuel the world's staggering economy.
But there were also differences among developing nations. Some of the least- developed countries, such as those with a per capita income of less than $1 a day, demanded a "Development Agenda" of talks over the next few years that would focus on a route out of their grinding poverty. Not all developing countries agree. Some Latin American countries see an advantage in agreeing to set rules for foreign investment as a means of attracting more money into their economies.
Some Gulf States attending the Doha meeting tried to utilise it as a venue to raise the issue of heavy duties imposed by the European Union on their exports from petrochemicals and aluminum. But as the EU was concentrating on defending its position on farm products subsidies and denying market access to third-world industries like textile and other markets, the Gulf complaint went unheeded.
Even the WTO's final declaration was not as clearly stated as had been previously desired. There was no succinct statement of when a new round of world trade negotiations might be launched. Ultimately, it seems that the main winner in Doha was the US and its so-called coalition against terror. Besides the military, diplomatic, and propaganda campaign, Washington managed to get global trade adversaries to soothe their differences for the sake of countering the negative economic impact of 11 September.
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