Archive - Dec 2005

Philippine-based think-tank IBON Foundation challenges the governments of the new underdeveloped country alliance to genuinely assert poor countries

media statement: WTO really promotes the monopoly profits of TNCs at the cost of deepening underdevelopment of Third World countries.

The U.S. and EU are attempting to put a 'development spin' at the Hong Kong WTO Ministerial in announcing a 'development package' comprising of aid for trade, non-binding duty free market access for Least Developing Countries and a few other items.

Dramatic rich country promises to help poor countries expand exports could fail without a change in how billions of dollars in aid are managed, Egyptian Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid said on Wednesday.

Trade ministers struggled to make progress toward a new pact to boost global commerce and faced an immediate challenge from African cotton farmers demanding a deal to cut subsidies.

Trade ministers from nearly 150 countries will try to break a deadlock in troubled global talks on Thursday, amid U.S. and European sniping over farm subsidies, food aid and measures to help the world's poorest.

Developing nations went on the offensive on Thursday as trade talks limped into their third day, with Washington and Tokyo under pressure to accept a duty-free, quota-free exports deal for the world's poorest countries.

Global trade talks were confronted with growing pressure from poorer countries, with African cotton producers and Latin American banana exporters leading the charge for fairer treatment.

At the WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong for the sixth Ministerial conference, unless developing countries against pressures -- from the WTO leaders, the US-EC-Japan and their transnational corporate lobbies -- they may be setting themselves up for another highly imbalanced outcome and a more oppressive multilateral trading system.

Ya que la Organizaci