記得去年在香港搞 WTO 時, 西方國家和香港政府以取消已發展國家的農業補貼作為 WTO 對貧窮國家農業的貢獻; 這邊大唱特唱, 到小組會議就面目猙獰. 什麼自由貿易, 當利字當頭時, 完全拋諸腦後.
前兩天(6月22日)農業協定搞了一個新方案:
- 歐盟與美國均不同意削減農業補貼, 對發展中國家的農業繼續傾銷;
- 美國不願意接受削減棉花補貼, 西非數以百萬計的棉花農民生計受影響;
- 新的協定未接納對小型農業生產進行保護, 發展中國家的小農在全球化市場下將進一步受害.
非農業市場協定 (on non-agricultural market access NAMA)
- 貧窮國家會被迫削減關稅, 使本地正在發展的小企業受損;
- 發展中國家不能保護本土工業.
有評論說, 這個新協定是 Doha 會談之死:
"The deterioration of trade talks is not
surprising," said Alexandra Strickner, Head of the Geneva Office of the
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). "The whole premise
of the Doha Round -- that deep tariff cuts and agricultural rules that
ignore food security and livelihood concerns are the goal -- is
wrongheaded. Most countries are not interested in the radical tariff
cuts being pushed by a few developed countries and still fewer
developing countries; they cost too much monetarily in lost revenues
and politically in lost jobs."......
"WTO
Members are confronting a hard reality," said Carin Smaller, trade
expert for the Geneva Office of IATP. "The contradictions between
promised benefits at the global level and more complicated realities on
the ground are harder and harder to explain. People around the world
are becoming aware of how the liberalization of trade and finance is
affecting their daily lives.
Smaller said, "Cheap food,
clothing or electronic goods are of little use to people who cannot
earn a living in decent working conditions. The deregulated markets
sought by free traders today tend to concentrate wealth and undermine
public access to decision-making.
"The Doha Round needs a quiet
burial," Smaller added. "We need to turn toward devising multilateral
trade rules focused on improving people’s livelihoods and providing the
space for poor countries to develop their economies."
有關的新方案見: 世貿網頁
非政府組織的評論報導見: our world is not for sale