Christian Aid laments receding trade talk hopes

-25/11/05

ìThese negotiations are teet


Christian Aid laments receding trade talk hopes

-25/11/05

ìThese negotiations are teetering on the brink … rich countries do not have the will to make the concessions required to allow progress.î So said Claire Melamed of the UK-based international development agency Christian Aid today, responding to receding prospects for the forthcoming world trade talks.

Leaked samples from draft texts being prepared for the summit in Hong Kong next month show that little if any progress has been made on key issues. This in spite of vociferous lobbying from church and aid groups.

Officials from World Trade Organisation (WTO) member countries had attempted to draw up a framework agreement on free trade to form the basis of the upcoming round of talks.

But drafts on the three main areas of negotiations – agriculture, services and industrial goods – obtained by the Guardian mainly reflect disagreement and division, says the newspaper.

WTO chief Pascal Lamy flew to a meeting of African trade ministers in Tanzania yesterday to hear their views on the state of play in the so-called Doha round of trade talks, named after the Qatari capital where the round kicked off in 2001.

The Hong Kong summit is seen by development campaigners as a last chance to get any sort of successful conclusion to the round, which could boost the world economy by 500 billion US dollars a year.

The main sticking point has been on agriculture, with developing countries insisting on increased access to rich nationsí markets for their produce.

Trade Justice campaigners are dismayed by the indicators coming out of the advance documents. They argue that trade which is not fair cannot be properly called ëfreeí either.

The Make Poverty History alliance, of which Ekklesia is a member, regards progress on trade ñ as much s debt relief and aid ñ a key means of relieving poverty and promoting social justice.

Christian Aid has been a consistent campaigner for trade justice. Recently it rebutted criticism from a business newspaper and from Conservative Party leadership candidate David Cameron, who accused it of being anti-capitalist.

The churchesí agency says its supports the globalisation of genuine equal opportunities for all, rather than the dominance of markets by powerful vested interests.

Thousands of people from across the UK braved torrential rain on recently in one of the largest ever mass lobbies of Parliament, which called for more just global trading rules in order to lift millions of people out of poverty.

[Also on Ekklesia: Christian aid groups launch virtual gifts for Christmas; Trade Justice ñ A Christian Response; Campaigners to lobby Parliament over trade justice; Trade Justice A Christian Response; Chancellor warns Christians that global justice will take a long time; Campaigners gear up for third White Band Day; Christian adoption scheme exposes fowl trade rules]


Christian Aid laments receding trade talk hopes

-25/11/05

‘These negotiations are teetering on the brink … rich countries do not have the will to make the concessions required to allow progress.’ So said Claire Melamed of the UK-based international development agency Christian Aid today, responding to receding prospects for the forthcoming world trade talks.

Leaked samples from draft texts being prepared for the summit in Hong Kong next month show that little if any progress has been made on key issues. This in spite of vociferous lobbying from church and aid groups.

Officials from World Trade Organisation (WTO) member countries had attempted to draw up a framework agreement on free trade to form the basis of the upcoming round of talks.

But drafts on the three main areas of negotiations – agriculture, services and industrial goods – obtained by the Guardian mainly reflect disagreement and division, says the newspaper.

WTO chief Pascal Lamy flew to a meeting of African trade ministers in Tanzania yesterday to hear their views on the state of play in the so-called Doha round of trade talks, named after the Qatari capital where the round kicked off in 2001.

The Hong Kong summit is seen by development campaigners as a last chance to get any sort of successful conclusion to the round, which could boost the world economy by 500 billion US dollars a year.

The main sticking point has been on agriculture, with developing countries insisting on increased access to rich nations’ markets for their produce.

Trade Justice campaigners are dismayed by the indicators coming out of the advance documents. They argue that trade which is not fair cannot be properly called ëfree’ either.

The Make Poverty History alliance, of which Ekklesia is a member, regards progress on trade – as much s debt relief and aid – a key means of relieving poverty and promoting social justice.

Christian Aid has been a consistent campaigner for trade justice. Recently it rebutted criticism from a business newspaper and from Conservative Party leadership candidate David Cameron, who accused it of being anti-capitalist.

The churches’ agency says its supports the globalisation of genuine equal opportunities for all, rather than the dominance of markets by powerful vested interests.

Thousands of people from across the UK braved torrential rain on recently in one of the largest ever mass lobbies of Parliament, which called for more just global trading rules in order to lift millions of people out of poverty.

[Also on Ekklesia: Christian aid groups launch virtual gifts for Christmas; Trade Justice – A Christian Response; Campaigners to lobby Parliament over trade justice; Trade Justice A Christian Response; Chancellor warns Christians that global justice will take a long time; Campaigners gear up for third White Band Day; Christian adoption scheme exposes fowl trade rules]