Rich members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) offered new
assistance to the least developed countries (LDCs) at the
organization's ongoing Sixth Ministerial Conference, but it is seen
as "charity with strings attached."
The generous packages of "Aid for Trade," offered by some
industrialized countries at the Hong Kong meeting, "sweeten a deal
in order to entice developing countries into accepting a bad deal,
" said Yashpal Tandon, executive director of the Geneva-based South
Center, an inter-governmental policy and research think-tank.
"A careful scrutiny of the 'Aid for Trade' ...suggests that
developed countries would use it to lure developing countries into
undertaking ambitious trade liberalization commitments whose
economic and policy costs would be many times higher than what they
would gain from aid," he said.
Japan announced Tuesday that it would spend US$10 billion over
the next three years on "Aid for Trade," a program of the
trade-related assistance, which aims to help developing countries
enhance their capability to trade.
On the same day, the European Union (EU) said it would increase
its contribution to the "Aid for Trade" from 400 million Euros to
20 billion Euros by 2010.
The promises were followed by the US announcement to double its
annual trade-related assistance from US$1.3 billion to US$2.7
billion by 2010.
However, the three donors all conditioned their aid on market
opening in the developing countries.
"Funds and the additional money I announced must go hand-in-hand
with market access expansion and the elimination of
trade-distorting subsidies," said US Trade Representative Rob
Portman.
Therefore, the recipients considered the proposed packages to be
a "trade off" to developing countries' interest and called for
predictable, secure and long-term assistance.
Rwandan Finance Minister Paul Manasseh Nashuti, who is attending
the December 13 to 18 WTO meeting, stated that the "Aid for Trade"
should not prejudice developing countries' and the LDCs' demands in
Hong Kong and should be given in the form of grants.
"The majority of developing countries have not been able to take
advantage of the potential benefits of international trade because
of their lack of trading opportunities, underdeveloped trading
infrastructure, and inability to meet technical standards in high
value markets," said Rashid Kaukab, coordinator of the South Center
Trade and Development Program.
Ministers from WTO's 149 members met here Tuesday in a new bid
to advance the Doha Round talks, which bogged down in a deadlock
over farm subsidies, pitting mainly rich countries against poor
ones.
(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2005)
