We reiterate that the DDA negotiations, which has nothing to do with 'development' but only aim to expand the logic of free trade and devastate the lives of the people, should immediately stop....
Stop DDA Negotiations! Protest against WTO General Council Meeting!
Press Conference Statement
From 27th July in Geneva, Switzerland, the WTO General Council meeting will start, aiming to consolidate the Doha Development Agenda(DDA) negotiations. The meeting, which will continue to the 29th July, has the objective of pushing the DDA negotiations forward, which had failed in Cancun last September and then had not been able to get back on track. Through the collapse of the Cancun Ministerial, we were able to re-confirm the contradictions of the DDA. When the DDA was launched three years ago, the US and EU stipulated that this round will reflect the interests of developing and least developed countries, and that it would aim at enabling all relevant parties to benefit from the so-called 'free trade'. However, at the Fifth Ministerial, developing countries expressed strong dissatisfaction at the US and EU who were leading the negotiations. It was proven once again that! the claim of developed countries that the DDA is for the benefit of developed countries was in fact nothing more than cajolery to get developing and least developed countries to participate more actively in the negotiations.
However, the forces leading the negotiations are ignoring the implications of the collapse of the Cancun Ministerial, and demanding developing countries and least developed countries to substantially dismantle all trade barriers, while they maintain their protective measures. This is very clearly reflected in the framework draft submitted by the General Council chair Oshima. In the agricultural negotiations, whereas the US and EU themselves try to maintain their subsidies through introduction of new conditions to the Blue Box that can lead to dumping in the developing countries - to much indignation from developing countries - they are also arguing for reciprocal reduction of tariffs through adoption of the 'tiered approach'. It is needless to say that this approach will be more devastating for developing countries, who have a higher tariff rate. In relation to NAMA, the ! document that was submitted in Cancun and had failed to reach an agreement was basically re-submitted. Also, although only one issue out of the four Singapore Issues - trade facilitation - will be on the table for negotiation, developed countries have left space for possible negotiations on the other three. There are no concrete measures mentioned in relation to the interests of developing and least developed countries, such as the elimination of US cotton tariffs, implementation, and special and differential treatment. It is a confirmation that the Doha Development Agenda does not have "development" as its agenda.
We believe that the decisions that come out of negotiations centered around the interests of developed countries will inevitably result in exclusion of ordinary peoples around the world, and further accelerate the imperialist exploitation that globalizes poverty - least of all bring development. The fundamental problem the DDA holds is that it will commodify the basic needs of the people such as food, energy, health and education, and make these serve the 'profit-making game' of transnational capital.
We reiterate that the DDA negotiations, which has nothing to do with 'development' but only aim to expand the logic of free trade and devastate the lives of the people, should immediately stop. In Seattle 1999, people around the world voiced out their opposition to the process of globalization driven by transnational capital, and brought the WTO Ministerial and the plans to inaugurate the New Millenium Round to a halt. Last September in Cancun, people blocked further negotiations together with Lee Kyung-Hae who shouted "WTO kills farmers!" before giving up his life.
We are together with all peoples around the world who seek to find alternatives for themselves in resistance against the destructive globalization of capital that the WTO promotes. If the Noh Moo-Hyun regime does not declare the WTO DDA negotiations, the Korea-Japan FTA and the Korea-US Bilateral Investment Treaty to be void, our struggles will continue. We will mobilize one million workers, peasants and social movements, as well as international peasant representatives on 10th September, on the anniversary of Lee Kyung-Hae's death, to resist the WTO and protect our rice. There will be demonstrations in October against the liberalization of public services particularly education and health, leading up to the People's Rally in November, when the mass will struggle against neoliberal globalization.
We, on behalf of the people, demand the following.
- Stop agricultural negotiations that destroy food sovereignty and extend the control of transnational agribusinesses!
- Stop services negotiations that commodify public services and block access to essential services!
- Stop negotiations on intellectual property rights that endow transnational capital with monopoly over technology and that infringe the rights of the people to access medicines and knowledge!
27th July, 2004
(organizations)
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
Korean Peasants League
Korean Democratic Labor Party
(coalitions)
Korean Farmers Solidarity
Korean People's Action against FTA & WTO
Korean People's Solidarity
Korean Education Solidarity
Joint Action Committee against Liberalization of Health
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Stop DDA Negotiations! Protest against WTO General Council Meeting!
