BRIEFING PAPER THE RETURN OF THE WTO: Why the 9th Ministerial and the Bali pac a!

e threaten the pe"ple and the planet By Mary Louise Malig* After numerous stalled negotiations, many had written off the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the walking dead !as"al Lamy, its #ire"tor $eneral, the former hard hitting lead negotiator for the %uro&ean 'nion, was for"ed to "on"ede that the WTO was at an im&asse last #e"em(er )*++ when the Ministerial was "alled a ,housekee&ing e-er"ise . /t is therefore no sur&rise that there was not a lot of attention for the u&"oming 0 th Ministerial in Bali, /ndonesia 1owe2er, as this &a&er will e-&lain further, this is no time to (e "om&la"ent This Bali Ministerial will (e different from the &re2ious (oring, ,housekee&ing. Ministerials /t "arries with it a real danger and threat of not only the return of the WTO, (ut an e-&ansion of its rea"h and the laun"hing of new negotiations into new areas The Bali !a"kage &resents itself as a "on"ession to de2elo&ing "ountries, offering to meet demands on food se"urity and tariff "on"erns on agri"ulture and addressing the long3 standing s&e"ial and differential treatment issues of Least #e2elo&ed 4ountries But with this "omes a &oison, a deal on trade fa"ilitation, a &re2iously re5e"ted ,new issue., whi"h now, not only threatens to drasti"ally o&en markets (y rela-ing trade "ustoms (arriers, it "arries the threat of the e-&ansion of the WTO, "ontinuing to e-tend its rea"h to areas (eyond trade The Bali !a"kage, if agreed, will mean more o(ligations for &oor "ountries and will in5e"t new life into the stalled multilateral trade talks, it will re2i2e and e-&and the WTO and through a domino effe"t, will also e-&and the areas of negotiation in the 6ree Trade Agreements (6TAs) su"h as in the Trans3!a"ifi" !artnershi& Agreement (T!!) After all, the WTO is still the (asis for all 6TAs and it is still the only multilateral organization with the &ower to for"e so2ereign states into "om&lian"e through its all3&owerful #is&ute 7ettlement Me"hanism 6urthermore, se2eral fa"tors 8 the "hanged &oliti"al lands"a&e with its new key &layers, the new e"onomi" reality and a new a&&roa"h to mo2ing the negotiations forward3 ha2e "ome together for not only the &ossi(le return of the WTO, (ut with the Bali !a"kage, the re2i2al and e-&ansion of the 6ree Trade 9egime as a whole The Real Threat "# the Bali Pac a!e /n reality, more than the "ontents of the &a"kage, the threat of the Bali !a"kage is that it re2i2es the negotiations and o&ens the door to not only further negotiations, (ut also the e-&ansion of the WTO itself Trade 6a"ilitation was a ,new issue. that was re5e"ted long ago (y de2elo&ing "ountries and yet it:s (a"k on the ta(le as the "enter&ie"e of the Bali !a"kage Agreement on this issue, o&ens the door to the other ,new issues., whi"h e-&and the WTO "o2erage, that were also re5e"ted a num(er of years ago and re2italizes the free trade negotiations itself, taking it out of its "urrent im&asse Wh" Wants t" Re$i$e the Ne!"tiati"ns% The WTO #oha 9ound negotiations ha2e (een in stalemate for many years The dead lo"k of the #oha 9ound led to the stalemate of the WTO negotiations ;ow in Bali they are going to try to agree some elements of the #oha 9ound then mo2e on to new negotiations into other areas 7e2eral fa"tors "an (e attri(uted to why they want to re2i2e the negotiations (ut the main ones are< 3 6irst, that the WTO is still the only multilateral trading organization that has the s&e"ial a(ility to legally enfor"e and &enalize "ountries and in se2eral "ases, "hange their national laws in order to im&lement the WTO rules on free trade

3 7e"ond, the system of "a&italism is (ased on "ontinuous growth and e-&ansion and without this, there is a de"line in &rofit 7o for the system to in"rease their rate in &rofit, they need to kee& e-&anding and growing 8 hen"e the need to e-&and the multilateral trading system into new areas Transnational "or&orations need this e-&ansion and growth in order for their rate of &rofit to "ontinue to grow And in reality, it is these (ig transnational "or&orations who "ontrol ma5ority of glo(al trade, that are the (enefi"iaries of the WTO and its e-&ansion into new areas for free trade The green e"onomy is a "lear e-am&le of "a&italism sear"hing for new areas, in that "ase, treating nature as "a&ital, in order to kee& e-&anding, growing and maintaining their in"rease in &rofit 3 Third, de2elo&ed "ountries who ha2e (een hardly hit (y the )**= finan"ial "risis, ha2e yet to fully re"o2er and are seeing their e"onomies stagnate and their growth slow down They need a""ess to the markets of the de2elo&ing "ountries, es&e"ially the ma5or emerging "ountries whose e"onomies are growing, so that they "an get out of the "risis 3 6ourth, the (ig de2elo&ing "ountries themsel2es are (eginning to feel the "run"h The "urren"ies of the (ig e"onomies in Asia like /ndia and /ndonesia are de2aluating at alarming rates as they (egin to feel the im&a"ts of the "risis Also, in the analysis of the &layers of the WTO and the 6ree Trade regime, there needs to (e a realization that glo(al trade is not only (etween "ountries (ut e2en more so (etween transnational "or&orations And on se2eral o""asions, "ountries mo2e with the interests of their "or&orations in mind BO& ' The (i##ic)lt (ays "# the ("ha (e$el"p*ent R")nd A 9ound refers to the set of negotiations aimed at agreeing on a num(er of things The 'ruguay 9ound, for e-am&le, whi"h lasted from +0=>3+00?, esta(lished the WTO and agreed the >* agreements that are now in &la"e under the WTO in"luding among others, the Agreement on Agri"ulture Although offi"ially (orn on @anuary +, +00A, the WTO only "ame under the s&otlight in +000 during the massi2e mo(ilizations in the streets of 7eattle The anti3glo(alization mo2ement had "ome together in a (rilliant show of strength and "oordination and had "om(ined with the dis"ontent of de2elo&ing "ountries to &rodu"e the first "olla&se of a WTO Ministerial )**+, in the "onfines of the Batari "a&ital of #oha, (lanketed (y the glo(al atmos&here of the war on terror, the WTO &rodu"ed the #oha #e2elo&ment 9ound, whi"h sin"e then, it has (een trying to mo2e, with great diffi"ulty, to "on"lusion The #oha #e2elo&ment 9ound, also known as the #oha #e2elo&ment Agenda, is the "urrent "enter of negotiations in the WTO /t:s o2erall o(5e"ti2e is to lower remaining trade (arriers around the world, to fa"ilitate greater and easier trade flows /t "o2ers a whole range of issues from agri"ulture to ser2i"es to s&e"ial and differential treatment /t was du((ed the #e2elo&ment 9ound as it &ur&ortedly was a(out deli2ering ,de2elo&ment. to the least de2elo&ed and de2elo&ing "ountries Although there were small mo2ements and ad2an"es, the #oha 9ound as a whole, remained at an im&asse Aside from (eing too am(itious in areas of great "ontention su"h as agri"ulture and ser2i"es, and &ushing for an e-&ansion of the WTO rea"h into ,new issues. su"h as trade fa"ilitation, go2ernment &ro"urement, in2estment and "om&etition, it also suffered from its own size, weighing itself down with its single undertaking rule, whi"h meant e2erything was either agreed or nothing at all The "olla&se of the )**C Ministerial in 4an"un was e2iden"e of the diffi"ulty in the negotiations The Least #e2elo&ed 4ountries had walked out of the negotiations, re5e"ting the ,new issues. and stating that their demands for s&e"ial and differential treatment and de2elo&ment were not (eing addressed 4an"un also witnessed the "oming together of de2elo&ing "ountries into

grou&ings on agri"ulture su"h as the $)* led (y Brazil and the $CC led (y /ndonesia The 4an"un "olla&se was also due to the great &u(li" &ressure that had arisen from the self3 immolation of Dorean farmer Lee Dyung 1ae, who died on the fen"e outside the 4an"un Ministerial, wearing a sign that said ,WTO Dills 6armers . The WTO managed to get itself (a"k on tra"k with a 1ong Dong Ministerial #e"laration in )**A (ut with almost no legitima"y as go2ernment se"urity for"es tear3gassed and arrested hundreds of &rotesters outside the 2enue and with the Ministerial 4hair ga2eling down the de"laration des&ite &rotests from some de2elo&ing "ountries After 1ong Dong, there were se2eral other attem&ts at forward mo2ement, stalling in )**=, until finally in #e"em(er )*++, ten years after the laun"h of the #oha #e2elo&ment 9ound, WTO #ire"tor $eneral !as"al Lamy admitted what e2eryone had known for a while, that the WTO negotiations were at an im&asse The Real Reas"n #"r the I*passe in the ("ha R")nd Ba"k in +00A, the WTO was "reated with the &romise to su&&osedly (ring dis"i&line to the agri"ulture se"tor The Agreement on Agri"ulture (AoA) was a ground(reaking deal (e"ause for the first time, there was a multilateral deal that "o2ered the se"tor as a whole and the &romise to the de2elo&ing "ountries was that this deal would (ring an end to the trade3 distorting su(sidies in agri"ulture of the '7 and the %' 1owe2er, through the 2arious loo&holes in the AoA, the '7 and the %' were a(le to in"rease instead of de"rease, their su(sidies, "ontinuing the dum&ing of "hea& agri"ultural goods, &utting de2elo&ing "ountry farmers out of work The #oha #e2elo&ment 9ound was an attem&t to e-&and the negotiations of the WTO, with the illusion to (ring dis"i&lines to those su(sidies and &ro2ide market a""ess to de2elo&ing "ountry farmers su"h as "otton The 1ong Dong #e"laration stated that )*+C would (e the deadline for ending e-&ort su(sidies and that there would (e duty free Euota free market a""ess for the "otton farmers And yet, still, nothing This is the real reason for the im&asse #e2elo&ed "ountries remain intransigent in their ways and yet e-&e"t more and more "on"essions from de2elo&ing "ountries 6urthermore, the &romise of dis"i&lining the massi2e su(sidies of the '7 and %' was ne2er real, the true goal of the AoA was to gain a""ess to agri"ultural markets of the de2elo&ing "ountries while dis"i&lining their go2ernments and limiting their &oli"y s&a"e The +han!ed Ec"n"*ic and P"litical ,andscape The glo(al "risis that hit in )**= "hanged the e"onomi" and &oliti"al lands"a&e The "enters of "a&italism, the '7 and the %', were the hardest hit and ha2e yet to fully re"o2er Their growth slowed down signifi"antly and their unem&loyment hit re"ord highs 9ealizing that that they needed the growing markets of the ma5or emerging e"onomies or the (ig de2elo&ing "ountries to sa2e them from finan"ial and e"onomi" ruin, the '7, %' and other de2elo&ed "ountries "on2ened the first $3)* heads of state meeting in ;o2em(er of )**=, effe"ti2ely (ringing the ma5or emerging de2elo&ing "ountries of Brazil, /ndia, 4hina, /ndonesia, Argentina, and 7outh Afri"a into the &re2iously "losed ,(ig (oys "lu(. of the $3= ;early &arallel to this de2elo&ment was also the de2elo&ment of a new de2elo&ing or newly3 industrialized "ountries grou&ing of the B9/47 3 Brazil, 9ussia, /ndia and 4hina, to (e 5oined (y 7outh Afri"a in )*+* /n other words, the world was "hanging and with it, the old &ower stru"tures As the "risis "ontinues though, the ma5or emerging e"onomies, ha2e also (egun to feel the im&a"ts, (ringing "urren"y de2aluation and un"ertainty in the markets whi"h in turn translate into insta(ility in the e"onomy The $3)* solution to this "risis is to ha2e more free trade (y o&ening the door to the e-&ansion of the WTO into new areas, and the o&ening of new markets with new 6TAs su"h as the '73%' and the T!! This, they are doing not only to sa2e their e"onomies from the

"risis (ut also to se"ure the "ontinuing rate of &rofit of their transnational "or&orations, the "lear (enefi"iaries of the e-&ansion of glo(al free trade The WTO itself re"ognizes this, as it details in its re"ent re&ort, ,4urrent trade is mainly dri2en (y a few (ig trading firms a"ross "ountries .+ BO& The chan!ed p".er str)ct)res in the WTO /n the &re2ious era of the WTO, there was a &arti"ular &ower stru"ture amongst the 7tates The Buad was at the to& of that stru"ture and wielded all the &ower The Buadrilateral grou& or The Buad 8 the &owerful four 8 were the 'nited 7tates, the %uro&ean 'nion, 4anada and @a&an The '7 and the %' would meet and resol2e any ma5or differen"es (etween the two of them And then they would "all 4anada and @a&an, often with the &arti"i&ation of the WTO 7e"retariat, to further esta(lish a "ommon &osition Then they would ha2e a Mini3Ministerial, a non3offi"ial, (y3in2itation3only3meeting, where key de2elo&ing "ountries were in2ited and asked to agree to the deal By the time the rest of the WTO mem(ershi& was &resented the deal at a Ministerial, the negotiations were already a done deal The "hanging e"onomi" lands"a&e howe2er, also (rought "hanges to the &oliti"al lands"a&e There were now (igger de2elo&ing "ountries that "ould not so easily (e (ullied into done deals 8 Brazil, /ndia, /ndonesia, to name a few 8 these were all large and fast growing e"onomies that "ould not (e ignored ;ew de2elo&ing "ountry formations also re5e"ted the &ro&osals of the '7 and the %' This new real&olitik is refle"ted in the new WTO The new #ire"tor $eneral is, in reality, a dire"t result of this new "hanged &oliti"al lands"a&e /nsiders ha2e re&orted that the ra"e for the new #ire"tor $eneral was a "lose "om&etition (etween the "andidates of Me-i"o and Brazil, with Me-i"o en5oying the su&&ort of the '7 and the 'D (ut with the %' standing on the fen"e and with the su&&ort of the B9/47, the de2elo&ing "ountries, who make u& the ma5ority of the WTO mem(ershi&, "ast their 2ote for 9o(erto Aze2edo of Brazil This means that the new WTO #ire"tor $eneral 9o(erto Aze2edo who started last 7e&tem(er +, )*+C, has a lot of su&&ort and &oliti"al "a&ital that he "an use to mo2e the negotiations (eyond its "urrent im&asse This may also mean that key de2elo&ing "ountries would now show more willingness to "om&romise and "ome to an agreement As a "a2eat though, it has ne2er (een sim&ly de2elo&ed 2ersus de2elo&ing as many, (oth de2elo&ed and de2elo&ing "ountries had and "ontinue to ha2e "ommon interests for their "or&orations A (i##erent Way t" M"$e the WTO Ne!"tiati"ns ;ot only is there a "hange in the e"onomi" and &oliti"al lands"a&e, (ut there is also a "hange in the way the negotiations are mo2ing The Bali !a"kage is a way to agree some elements of the #oha 9ound (ut more im&ortantly, it is a ste&&ing3stone to laun"hing new negotiations into other areas, lea2ing (ehind the deadweight of the #oha 9ound Mo2ing in &arallel to this, is also the &lurilateral negotiations on other "ontentious areas su"h as ser2i"es /nsider re&orts indi"ate that the new a&&roa"h shall (e to settle the ma5or differen"es first through these &lurilateral negotiations then later on, &ush for the deal to (e (e"ome multilateral, a&&lying to all, instead of only to those interested BO& / The Gr")ps $ sim&ly means grou& and the num(er usually re&resents the num(er of "ountries that (elong to that grou& 4ountries "ome together into these grou&s on different to&i"s, some

with the &ur&ose of ha2ing a stronger negotiating &osition and some with a more long3term &oliti"al, finan"ial and e"onomi" goal G091 is the largest trading (lo" in the WTO in terms on num(ers, as it (rings together &oorest and smallest de2elo&ing "ountry mem(ers of the WTO /n it are the Afri"an, 4ari((ean and !a"ifi" $rou& (A4!), the Afri"an 'nion and the Least #e2elo&ed 4ountries (L#4s) G0// "haired (y /ndonesia, this de2elo&ing "ountry grou&ing, whi"h in"ludes /ndia, the !hili&&ines and se2eral others, is mainly "om&osed of de2elo&ing "ountries with large &o&ulations of smallholder farmers and ha2e (een at the forefront of &ro&osing s&e"ial measures for de2elo&ing "ountries in the area of agri"ulture G0-1 "haired (y Brazil, this grou& was formed shortly (efore the 4an"un Ministerial in )**C %sta(lished (y Brazil, /ndia, 4hina and 7outh Afri"a, this de2elo&ing "ountry (lo":s main &ositions are around gaining effe"ti2e market a""ess into de2elo&ed "ountry markets for their agri"ultural &rodu"ts and seeing an end to e-&ort su(sidies of the de2elo&ed "ountries The "ther G0-1 differs from the other negotiating grou&s formed in the WTO (e"ause it was formed with a more long3term &oliti"al, finan"ial and e"onomi" goal /t (rought together ,systemi"ally im&ortant. de2elo&ed and de2elo&ing "ountries to dis"uss key finan"ial &oli"y issues in the glo(al e"onomy 1owe2er, it has mandated itself with mu"h more than 5ust dis"ussing glo(al finan"e /t meets annually to de"ree &oliti"al dire"tions on the issues of food se"urity, energy se"urity, "limate "hange, trade, 5o(s, &o2erty redu"tion and de2elo&ment /t designated itself to (e the &remier forum for international e"onomi" "oo&eration There are serious Euestions on their legitima"y to make de"isions on (ehalf of the rest of the world /t is essentially the $= &lus friends The )* mem(ers of this grou&ing are< Argentina, Australia, Brazil, 4anada, 4hina, 6ran"e, $ermany, /ndia, /ndonesia, /taly, @a&an, Me-i"o, 9ussia, 7audi Ara(ia, 7outh Afri"a, 9e&u(li" of Dorea, Turkey, 'nited Dingdom, 'nited 7tates of Ameri"a and the %uro&ean 'nion The /nternational Monetary 6und (/M6) and the World Bank also &arti"i&ate in $3)* meetings although on an e-3offi"io (asis The (ar 2ide "# the Bali Pac a!e

There are three main elements of the Bali !a"kage< Trade 6a"ilitation, Agri"ulture and a !a"kage for Least #e2elo&ed 4ountries '3 Trade Facilitati"n At the heart of this Bali !a"kage is a deal on Trade 6a"ilitation This is the "enter&ie"e of the !a"kage as it aims to fa"ilitate easier, more &redi"ta(le, faster and greater trade flows for "or&orations To &ut sim&ly, trade fa"ilitation is the rela-ing of "ustoms &ro"edures to "ut the time it takes for goods to "ross (orders This was &art of the four ,new issues. that were re5e"ted in the )**C 4an"un Ministerial (y de2elo&ing "ountries and yet has found its way (a"k on the ta(le and in the "enter of a deal This was always and remains to (e a de2elo&ed "ountry demand as it is de2elo&ed "ountries that ha2e the most to gain in easier and faster a""ess to markets of de2elo&ing "ountries %asing "ustoms &ro"edures though, will need a signifi"ant amount of funds, to im&lement in de2elo&ing "ountries whose "ustoms and (order &ro"edures are not u& to the standards of de2elo&ed "ountries #e2elo&ing "ountries do not ha2e the money to in2est in the standardization of "ustoms and (order &ro"edures They (arely ha2e enough money to address issues of hunger and &o2erty, and then they will (e e-&e"ted to s&end for the modernization of (order &ro"edures 5ust to "om&ly with glo(al trade rules And although this will mean the rela-ing of "ustoms and (order &ro"edures as well of the de2elo&ed "ountries, it "an almost (e &redi"ted that

many de2elo&ing "ountries will not (e a(le to take ad2antage of that to a""ess de2elo&ed "ountry markets as e2iden"ed (y &re2ious em&ty &romises of market a""ess and duty free Euota free a""ess (y de2elo&ed "ountries 6inally, the real threat of the Trade 6a"ilitation deal is that its agreement will o&en the door for the other re5e"ted ,new issues. (go2ernment &ro"urement, in2estment and "om&etition) and the e-&ansion of the WTO:s "o2erage into new areas not &re2iously "o2ered or dealt with in trade -3 A!ric)lt)re Agri"ulture has always (een at the "enter of the im&asse of the #oha #e2elo&ment 9ound When negotiations finally stalemated in )**=, the sti"king &oint was agri"ulture Today, some of those long3standing issues in agri"ulture are (a"k on the ta(le together with demands from the de2elo&ing "ountries There are a num(er of elements in the Agri"ulture se"tion of the Bali !a"kage 3 &u(li" sto"kholding for food se"urity and domesti" food aid ($CC) 3 eliminating e-&ort su(sidiesFe-&ort "om&etition ($)*) 3 dis"i&lines of administering Tariff39ate Buotas ($)*) The first element is a &ro&osal ta(led (y the $CC and is "entered on the demand for de2elo&ing "ountries to (e allowed to use &ri"e su&&ort to im&lement &u(li" sto"kholding for food se"urity and domesti" food aid This means that $CC "ountries are asking that they (e allowed to &ro2ide su(sidies to &oor farmers 6or the &ro&osal to work on a long3term (asis though, the AoA needs to (e amended, s&e"ifi"ally its rules on domesti" su&&ort 'nder the "urrent rules, "ountries like /ndia and /ndonesia "annot su(sidize their &oor farmers (e"ause they would go (eyond the AoA domesti" su&&ort limits /ndia, in &arti"ular, whi"h has 5ust signed into law last 7e&tem(er )*+C, the ;ational 6ood 7e"urity Bill, aims to &ro2ide su(sidized food grains to &oor mem(ers of its &o&ulation, whi"h a""ording to some estimates would (e around two3thirds of /ndia:s + ) (illion &o&ulation /f /ndia im&lements this law, legal a"tion "an (e taken against it under the WTO #is&ute 7ettlement Me"hanism, as it will 2iolate the AoA:s rules on domesti" su&&ort The $CC, led (y /ndonesia, argues that they need this amendment to the rules in order to &ro2ide food se"urity for their &oor farmers and "onsumers #e2elo&ed "ountries howe2er found the &ro&osal to amend the AoA as ,too (ig an issue for Bali .) /nstead, they offer interim me"hanisms in"luding time3(ased or threshold3(ased fle-i(ilities so as to allow the su(sidies (ut without the threat of legal "hallenges under the #is&ute 7ettlement Me"hanism /nsider re&orts had indi"ated that the $CC &ro&osal was first outright re5e"ted (ut (e"ause of /ndia:s threat to derail the trade fa"ilitation deal in return, the de2elo&ed "ountries ha2e "ome (a"k with these interim solutions The &ro&osed interim solutions, aside from ha2ing no assuran"e of really working, also fall far from what the $CC "ountries demand BO& 4 Why the A!ree*ent "n A!ric)lt)re needs t" 5e a*ended #"r the G// pr"p"sal t" ."r 'nder the rules of the AoA, domesti" su&&ort, whi"h in"ludes measures to su&&ort &ri"es, administered &ri"es or su(sidies dire"tly related to &rodu"tion Euantities, fall under the Am(er (o- and are su(5e"t to limits The limits are AG of agri"ultural &rodu"tion for de2elo&ed "ountries and +*G of agri"ultural &rodu"tion for de2elo&ing "ountries At the (eginning of the WTO, WTO mem(ers that had su(sidies higher than these ,de minimis. le2els were reEuired to "ommit to redu"e These redu"tions are referred to as the Total Aggregate Measurement of 7u&&ort The formula for "al"ulating Total AM7 is< Holume of eligi(le farm su(sidy &rodu"tion #ifferen"e (etween the e-ternal referen"e &ri"e I Halue of

(world market &ri"e) and the

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&ro2ided administered &ri"e 6ollowing this understanding of the AoA, one "an understand why these four elements (elow are the ones listed as the main elements that need to (e negotiated in order for the $CC "ountries to (e a(le to &ro2ide su(sidies without e-"eeding the limits or fa"ing legal "hallenges under the WTO dis&ute settlement me"hanism One of these four rules of the AoA need to (e amended for the $CC &ro&osal to work< +) 9aise the ,de minimis. su&&ort "eiling for de2elo&ing "ountries from +*G to +AG )) 9e2iew the +0=>3== e-ternal referen"e &ri"es and use instead a more "urrent referen"e &ri"e year C) 9e2iew the 2olume of eligi(le &rodu"tion ?) ;egotiate the administered &ri"e (ut the $CC is not o&en to redu"ing further this fourth 2aria(le as this is the su&&ort that they want to gi2e to their farmers C The se"ond element is a &ro&osal ta(led (y the $)* grou&ing on agri"ulture, led (y Brazil This &ro&osal "alls for an end to e-&ort su(sidies and dis"i&lining e-&ort "redits to a2oid that the "redit is then su(sidized This &ro&osal stems from a long3standing issue /n )**A, at the end of the >th WTO Ministerial in 1ong Dong, the de"laration stated, , 6. We agree to ensure the parallel elimination of all forms of export subsidies and disciplines on all export measures with equivalent effect to be completed by the end of 2013. .? )*+C is now halfway o2er and yet the %' and '7 are nowhere near eliminating their e-&ort su(sidies And des&ite the fa"t that this &ro&osal is already an agreement from a &re2ious Ministerial #e"laration, there is still o&&osition to it "oming from the largest su(sidizers The third element is a &ro&osal also (y the $)*, "entered on the demand of the $)* to ha2e tighter dis"i&lines on administering tariff3rate Euotas (T9Bs) /n essen"e, this &ro&oses easing farm im&orts under tariff rate Euotas as "urrent rules im&ede effe"ti2e market a""ess (y de2elo&ing "ountries into de2elo&ed "ountry markets This is re&ortedly seen as a &ro&osal that "an (e agreed in Bali des&ite some reser2ations on how the me"hanism would work in &ra"ti"e /3 Pac a!e #"r ,east (e$el"ped +")ntries /n the final s&ee"h of Lamy at the 6ormal Trade ;egotiations 4ommittee meeting last @uly )), )*+C, he &resented the &a"kage of issues for Least #e2elo&ed 4ountries as the first element of the Bali !a"kage There are a num(er of issues in this area 6irst, under 7&e"ial and #ifferential Treatment (7J#T), there are a num(er of issues< the )= 4an"un &ro&osals, the Monitoring Me"hanism and > agreement s&e"ifi" &ro&osals The )= 4an"un &ro&osals were originally &art of == &ro&osals that were su&&osed to strengthen the 7J#T &ro2isions in the WTO The )= were a"tually already agreed (efore 4an"un in )**C (ut were not "arried forward after the "olla&se of that Ministerial Today, e2en though, as Lamy says, ,These &ro&osals en5oy an ,in3&rin"i&le. agreement,. A they are still (eing re2iewed and a de"ision is yet to (e taken on whether they would (e ado&ted The Monitoring Me"hanism, whi"h is also a long3standing demand of L#4s, that would monitor WTO rules 2is a 2is 7J#T &ro2isions, is still at the le2el of ,"on"e&tual "larity, (ut work still remains to translate this into drafting language . > Then the > agreement s&e"ifi" &ro&osals, whi"h ha2e to do with 7anitary and !hytosanitary Measures, ha2e already (een relegated to a &ost3Bali dis"ussion 7e"ond, the ? L#4 issues< duty free Euota free (#6B6) market a""ess, rules of origin, "otton, and im&lementation of the L#4s ser2i"es wai2er The #6B6 market a""ess issue was already agreed in the )**A 1ong Dong Ministerial (ut ne2er deli2ered nnex !" #pecial and $ifferential %reatment" &$' greement(specific )roposals"

36* $ecision on +easures in !avour of &east($eveloped 'ountries We agree that developed(country +embers shall, and developing(country +embers declaring themselves in a position to do so should" -a* -i* )rovide duty(free and quota(free mar.et access on a lasting basis, for all products originating from all &$'s by 200/ or no later than the start of the implementation period in a manner that ensures stability, security and predictability. 0 4otton is also an old issue, another long standing demand of L#4s, whi"h was also already agreed in the )**A 1ong Dong Ministerial #e"laration and also yet to (e deli2ered 11* We recall the mandate given by the +embers in the $ecision adopted by the 1eneral 'ouncil on 1 ugust 2002 to address cotton ambitiously, expeditiously and specifically, within the agriculture negotiations in relation to all trade(distorting policies affecting the sector in all three pillars of mar.et access, domestic support and export competition, as specified in the $oha text and the 3uly 2002 !ramewor. text4. ( ll forms of export subsidies for cotton will be eliminated by developed countries in 2006. ( 5n mar.et access, developed countries will give duty and quota free access for cotton exports from least(developed countries -&$'s* from the commencement of the implementation period./ 9ules of origin, is again, also an old demand, whi"h has to do with de2elo&ed "ountries &ro2iding sim&lified and trans&arent rules of origin so as to fa"ilitate market a""ess for e-&orts from L#4s The im&lementation of the L#4s ser2i"es wai2er is a demand to o&erationalize something that was already agreed At the )*++ Ministerial of the WTO in $ene2a, Ministers ado&ted a wai2er to gi2e &referential treatment to L#4 ser2i"e su&&liers /n reality, all the demands of the L#4s are long3standing demands, with se2eral of them ha2ing already (een agreed at &re2ious Ministerials (ut 5ust ne2er deli2ered And yet, in Lamy:s s&ee"h, he &ut the onus on L#4s, saying, ,7o, the L#4 Bali &a"kage is in the making, (ut at this &oint, the (all is in the "ourt of the L#4s / ho&e the L#4s will (e fully &re&ared to take forward their &ro&osals after the summer (reak .0 The Bali Pac a!e is 5ein! presented as a .ay t" *"$e the de$el"p*ental iss)es "# the de$el"pin! and ,(+s s)ch as iss)es "n a!ric)lt)re and special and di##erential treat*ent6 H".e$er7 the reality is that7 de$el"pin! c")ntries and ,(+s are !i$in! de$el"ped c")ntries an a!ree*ent "n trade #acilitati"n7 s"*ethin! de$el"ped c")ntries really .ant7 t" e8pand #ree trade int" ne. areas and "pen the d""r t" ne. ne!"tiati"ns7 and in ret)rn7 de$el"pin! c")ntries .ill !et declarati"ns and e*pty pr"*ises #"r thin!s that .ere already in #act a!reed and pr"*ised t" the* se$eral years a!"6 The "nly ne. de*and c"*es #r"* the G// 5)t "ne can already see that de$el"ped c")ntries .ill n"t a!ree t" an a*end*ent "# the A"A and instead .ill "##er hal#0*eas)res and interi* s"l)ti"ns7 all "# .hich7 #all sh"rt "# ena5lin! de$el"pin! c")ntries #r"* pr"$idin! lastin! #""d sec)rity t" their s*allh"lder and p""r #ar*ers6 The Ret)rn "# the WTO *eans the Res)r!ence "# the Free Trade Re!i*e /n "on"lusion, the main reasons the 0 th WTO Ministerial and the Bali !a"kage are a threat to the &eo&le and the &lanet, are that it rein2igorates the WTO, re2i2es the negotiations, o&ens the door to new negotiations into new areas and finally, fuels the resurgen"e of the free trade regime as a whole The WTO has always (een the "enter&ie"e of the free trade regime with its multilateral rea"h and its s&e"ial a(ility to legally enfor"e and &enalize "ountries in order to im&lement glo(al trade rules The 6TAs will also (enefit from the re2i2al of the WTO as all things agreed in the WTO "an immediately (e in"luded in 6TAs as 6TAs are essentially

WTO &lus agreements /t has (een += years sin"e the WTO was esta(lished 7in"e then, "ountless "ases and e2iden"e ha2e (een do"umented to show the negati2e im&a"ts of free trade 8 small farmers and &easants losing their lands and li2elihoods due to dum&ing and flooding of "hea& im&orts, fishers dis&la"ed from their traditional fishing grounds, women (earing the (runt of the negati2e im&a"ts on their "ommunities, workers losing their 5o(s or for"ed to take on &re"arious work as "om&anies "om&ete to lower "osts and families who are for"ed to migrate to look for work Mother ;ature is also a 2i"tim as free trade treats it as a thing to (e e-&loited and "ommodified The multi&le "rises of finan"e, food, "limate, "an all (e linked to the free trade regime and how it has o2ere-&loited the &lanet, &ushing us into this "limate "risis, &oisoning our food and s&e"ulating on &ri"es dri2ing them u& (eyond &eo&le:s rea"h and letting (anks and transnational "or&orations run unregulated &ushing us all into the (rink of a glo(al re"ession The $)* "ountries see more free trade, entering new areas in order to "ontinue the rate of &rofit of their "or&orations, as the solution to the "risis And the re2i2al of the WTO is &art of this &lan But if we are to ho&e for the future generations and the &lanet to ha2e a future, we need to sto& this now There is not a moment to lose There is no more time for half3 measures, if we are to ha2e a "han"e, we need to "hange the system now What we need is not more free trade, (ut rather, a new system, one that is (ased on &eo&les: so2ereignty, e"onomi", "limate, so"ial and "ultural 5usti"e What we need is a trade that is (ased on "om&lementarity, solidarity and that has at its heart, the &eo&les: interests and not that of "or&orations We need an agri"ultural system that is (ased on food so2ereignty and not (ased on growing "ash "ro&s for the markets There are hundreds of alternati2es from "ommunities, from so"ial mo2ements, from &easants, workers, women, migrants, fishers, youth and e"onomi" 5usti"e a"ti2ists /t is &ossi(le to ha2e a world without the WTO, we 5ust need to make it a reality It is ti*e t" end the WTO6
6+ary &ouise +alig is staff for &a 7ia 'ampesina( sia. +alig is also a policy analyst and has written on the issues of trade particularly the World %rade 5rgani8ation, the 1(20 and also on issues of climate change and the green economy. #he is co(author of the boo., %he nti($evelopment #tate" %he )olitical 9conomy of )ermanent 'risis in the )hilippines and a contributor to the volume on #outheast sia of the seven volume series of #9: and ;<9), 'ivic 9ntrepreneurship" 'ivil #ociety )erspective on #ustainable $evelopment and author of a number of other papers.

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