Focus on Trade |
| NUMBER 98, April 2004 |
| IN
THIS ISSUE of Focus on Trade we look at the G20, the developing country
coalition that threw a sizeable spanner in the works during last year's
WTO ministerial. Although their role as a potential counterpower to the
US and the EU is welcome, their negotiating position in the WTO is riddled
with contradictions. How does the G20 propose to reconcile market access
and agricultural liberalisation in the framework of the WTO with their stated
intention to protect small producers and peasants? Whose interests are they
really defending? Can export agriculture bring employment and prosperity
to the rural poor? Is it possible to simultaneously maximise the benefits
from exports and protect local producers?
These questions are tackled from a number of angles. In the lead story,
Chanida Chanyapate and Isabelle Delforge explore the agro-politics of
Thailand's ongoing chicken-flu crisis and the "downside" of
export agriculture. Next, Aileen Kwa reports on the state of agriculture
negotiations in Geneva and concludes with the dismal perspective that
- as far as the US and the EU are concerned - it's business as usual.
Nicola Bullard speculates about where the G20 is heading and how progressive
movements should respond, while Clodoaldo Hugueney from the Brazilian
ministry of foreign affairs describes the G20's origins and agenda. Devinder
Sharma describes the "hunger amidst plenty" in one of the leading
G20 countries - India - and urges his government to give hunger the same
political energy they spend creating the illusion of "India Shining."
Last is a recent interview with Joao Pedro Stedile, a leader of Brazil's
landless movement, in which he insists that Lula's government (the de
facto leader of the G20) is backing the wrong set of policies. The Stedile
interview finishes with a wonderful quote, for gardeners and activists
alike: "This is not the time for planting lettuce; it's time to plant
trees. One of these days they will begin to bear fruit." THE POLITICS
OF BIRD FLU IN THAILAND AGRICULTURE
NEGOTIATIONS: MORE TROUBLE AHEAD FOR THE THIRD WORLD THE G20:
THEIR POWER IS NOT OURS THE G20:
PASSING PHENOMENON OR HERE TO STAY? "IF
LULA DOES NOT CARRY OUT AGRARIAN REFORM, IT WOULD BE DEMORALIZING" HUNGER
IS A REFLECTION OF OUR MISPLACED EMPHASIS ON GROWTH FOR A SELECT FEW
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