Show of solidarity aimed at forcing US and EU to stop stalling and start negotiating
Developing countries finally came to the forefront of the Doha Development Round yesterday with an unprecedented show of unity aimed at forcing the United States and European Union to put aside their bickering and self-interest and begin to negotiate.
A grouping of 110 countries representing four-fifths of the world's population released a statement expressing solidarity on the biggest sticking points of negotiations so far, including cotton, duty-free market access for the least-developed nations, and the elimination of agricultural export subsidies.
The statement could put pressure on the US and EU, whom critics say have been intransigent on the needs of developing economies.
'This bonding is driven by the desire not to preside any more over the perpetuation of inequalities in global trade,' said Indian trade minister Kamal Nath. 'This will continue to happen unless we present a united front.'
It was widely expected that the developing countries would, at some stage, up the ante after so little progress had been made in the first three days of negotiations, aside from a draft text to grant duty-free access to imports from least developing countries.
But countries from the component groupings, including G-20, G33, the African group, the Least Developed Countries and the so-called Small Economies appear to have been forced to compromise on, or at least put aside, a number of divisive issues in an attempt to extract serious offers from developed nations on market access and elimination of subsidies.