Copyright 1999 InterPress Service, all rights reserved. Worldwide distribution via the APC networks. *** 10-Dec-99 *** Title: TRADE: Failure Of WTO Talks Applauded, Africa Feels Vindicated By Lewis Machipisa and Remi Oyo LAGOS, Dec 10 (IPS) - ''It was an amazing week'', Martin Khor, director of the Third World Network (TWN), tapped on his keyboard narrating events that took place at the just ended but failed Third Ministerial talks of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) held in Seattle, US. ''At the end, the WTO Ministerial Conference that was supposed to launch a new Round collapsed, suddenly, in almost total chaos, like a house of cards,'' typed Khor, whose group is made up of non- governmental organisations (NGOs) in Third world countries involved in development and environment issues. It's rare that failure gives reason for celebration, but the just concluded WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle has brought huge relief to African countries. From Lagos, Nairobi, Harare and Johannesburg, the collapse of the Third Ministerial Talks in Seattle is being saluted as victory for all developing countries. Nathan Shamuyarira, minister of Industry and Commerce, who led the Zimbabwe delegation to the talks, told journalists upon his return that the failure of the trade talks was a warning that Africa should be taken seriously in next year's negotiations. Nigeria's manufacturers are also relieved. In separate meetings this week, the producers lamented the world trade system had not alleviated the multiple problems plaguing the Nigerian economy. African countries feel vindicated. After four days of talks, protests by the civil society and rights groups, there was no new Round, no Declaration, not even a brief joint statement to thank the hosts or decide on the follow up process. For the first time in the history of the WTO, the developing countries spoke with one voice and never swayed from their positions. It was a memorable victory for them. But, as the negotiations return to Geneva, where the WTO representatives would continue to negotiate on a draft declaration, Yash Tandon of the Zimbabwe- based International South Group Network (ISGN) warns that having lost the battle, ''we are likely to witness much arms-twisting and carrot-dangling at developing countries by industrialised countries.'' ''Those that are hard to co-opt, such as Zimbabwe, are likely to face further isolation,'' warns Tandon, who attended the Seattle parley. ''Those that are easy to co-opt will be sucked in with tangible rewards.'' ''At Seattle, the OAU (Organisation of African Unity) could stand together in a moment of shared anger at being marginalised. They could unite on the issue of process. However, when issues of substance come to the fore, they are likely to get divided. The same is likely to happen to the Caribbean and Latin American countries.'' ''At the same time, the power holders, mainly the US and the EU (European Union), will now seek to reconcile their differences much more earnestly. They have seen that when they quarrel, the proletarian nations of the world unite in rebellion,'' says Tandon. According to Khor, the more basic cause of the Seattle debacle was the untransparent and undemocratic nature of the WTO system, the blatant manipulation of that system by the major powers, and the refusal of many developing countries to continue to be on the receiving end. Tandon, however, says that even though the developing countries united against the undemocratic nature of the WTO, the experience of Seattle will not lead to immediate democratisation of the WTO. ''The big players have much to lose by that,'' he says. Tandon, who is based in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare, says the next strategy of all progressive forces in the world would continue with the work that they have been doing, in a more intense manner and at deeper levels. He suggests five levels of action. Further analytical and educational work on substantive issues that will be negotiated in Geneva, such as agriculture, services, investment, competition, procurement, environment, and labour standards. The second suggestion emphasises the building of stronger alliances that cut across nations and peoples. The third calls for deepening ideological and theoretical discussions. ''Seattle was a challenge not simply to the WTO; it was a challenge to the whole process of liberalisation and globalisation,'' says Tandon. ''Much more work needs to be done at the institutional level, such as in SADC (the 14-nation Southern African Development Community) in Southern Africa and in the OAU at the continental level.'' Noting that the unity of the OAU at Seattle was a product of largely conjectural factors, Tandon warns the pan-African body against reverting to ''its usual fractious passivity.'' ''The SADC, on the other hand, is already a divided house, with South Africa going along with the global power brokers rather than with the rest of its membership,'' he says. To forge unity, Tandon calls for the strengthening of the institutional capacity of African organisations to protect and serve the interests of Africa rather than those of either global corporations or their local agents. Khor says the main message of the protesters in Seattle was heard loud and clear, that the WTO has gone much too far in setting global rules that "lock in" the interests of big corporations at the expense of developing countries, the poor, the environment, workers and consumers. ''The impact of grassroots protests against globalisation, already evident in the campaigns on the multilateral agreement on investment (MAI) and against genetic engineering, had its coming- of-age in the street battles of Seattle,'' says Khor. Stella Okoli, spokesperson for the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing sector in Nigeria, says that membership of the WTO should not be used for killing local industries. ''No government in the world opens its doors without very stringent conditions to imported goods which can be produced locally'', she says. Does the Seattle debacle give hope for reform to the WTO's decision-making system? ''That depends really on whether the developing countries can now make use of the impasse to press for a democratic system, for example by abolishing the green-room process that belongs to the feudal age, and which ultimately sank Seattle,'' says Khor.(END/IPS/lm/ro/mn/99) Origin: Harare/TRADE/ ---- [c] 1999, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS) All rights reserved ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------