Church agencies dismayed and angry as world trade talks collapse
-24/07/06
Scottish Ca
Church agencies dismayed and angry as world trade talks collapse
-24/07/06
Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, Christian Aid, CAFOD, Tearfund and other church and development groups have expressed dismay and anger at the decision to suspend World Trade Organisation talks which could have lifted millions from poverty.
The talks collapsed yesterday (24 July 2006) as wealthy countries refused to prioritise development. The Scottish aid agency called for renewed conviction to break the stand-off and make trade rules fairer for the worldís poorest nations.
The talks ground to a halt as the European Union and the United States refused to stop dumping subsidised agricultural products onto world markets, a practice that distorts commodity prices in poor countries and cheats subsistence farmers out of a decent livelihood.
Despite the promises made last year at the G8, the EU and US also refused to give developing countries adequate choice over which sectors and products to open up to foreign competition.
Chris Hegarty, advocacy manager at SCIAF, said: ìThis news will send a chill through the hundreds of thousands of Scots who called to Make Poverty History last year.î
Hegarty continued: ìA fairer international trading system is one of the most important weapons we have in the fight against poverty ñ it has the power to transform the lives of the 1.2 billion who live on less than one dollars per day and to present sustainable solutions that would enable the poor to work their way out of poverty. These WTO negotiations represented a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do just that.î
The SCIAF spokesperson declared: ìWhile we are dismayed at the suspension of the talks, we simply cannot give up. The suspension of the talks provides rich nations with an ideal opportunity to rethink the current situation and to come back to the negotiating table with offers that will genuinely help developing countries.î
The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund is the official overseas aid and development agency of the Catholic Church in Scotland. It supports programmes for change among poor people in Africa, Asia and Latin America, responds to emergency appeals, and campaigns for a more just world.
SCIAF makes it clear that it supports poor people regardless of race, religion or creed.
Meanwhile Christian Aid said that the collapse of the trade talks removed the single most important weapon in the fight against global poverty.
ìIt seems that the selfish intransigence of the US and Europe has finally wrecked any chance of a successful outcome for these trade talks which were meant to help developing countries,î said Dr Claire Melamed, Christian Aidís senior trade analyst.
ìPoor countries desperately needed a fair trade deal so that they could grow out of poverty and not rely on hand outs. This tawdry squabbling at the rich worldís high table has now put paid to that. It is a disgraceful outcome of which leaders of the European Union and America should be ashamed,î she declared.
Dr Melamed added that the future of the WTO was now in serious doubt. ìHow can this allegedly great trading organisation continue to function when it cannot perform the basics of what it was designed for?î
ìThis an extremely serious matter and I suspect we are back to the drawing board on trade ñ with all the damaging consequences that will have for poor countries,î she added.
Christian Aid was commenting on reports that the latest ëlast-ditchí bid to resurrect the Doha Development round of talks by the G6 group of nations (America, the EU, Japan, India, Brazil and Australia) has also crashed.
[Also on Ekklesia: Christians push World Trade Organization for justice; Catholic aid agency says EU and US stalling trade talks; Millions of world’s poorest workers face new year misery; Faith groups emphasise ‘trade for people’; Grant trade justice, aid and church groups tell Peter Mandelson; Trade justice event to be biggest lobby this year; Santa tells Tony Blair to Make Poverty History; Trade justice hangs in the balance]
Church agencies dismayed and angry as world trade talks collapse
-24/07/06
Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, Christian Aid, CAFOD, Tearfund and other church and development groups have expressed dismay and anger at the decision to suspend World Trade Organisation talks which could have lifted millions from poverty.
The talks collapsed yesterday (24 July 2006) as wealthy countries refused to prioritise development. The Scottish aid agency called for renewed conviction to break the stand-off and make trade rules fairer for the worldís poorest nations.
The talks ground to a halt as the European Union and the United States refused to stop dumping subsidised agricultural products onto world markets, a practice that distorts commodity prices in poor countries and cheats subsistence farmers out of a decent livelihood.
Despite the promises made last year at the G8, the EU and US also refused to give developing countries adequate choice over which sectors and products to open up to foreign competition.
Chris Hegarty, advocacy manager at SCIAF, said: ìThis news will send a chill through the hundreds of thousands of Scots who called to Make Poverty History last year.î
Hegarty continued: ìA fairer international trading system is one of the most important weapons we have in the fight against poverty ñ it has the power to transform the lives of the 1.2 billion who live on less than one dollars per day and to present sustainable solutions that would enable the poor to work their way out of poverty. These WTO negotiations represented a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do just that.î
The SCIAF spokesperson declared: ìWhile we are dismayed at the suspension of the talks, we simply cannot give up. The suspension of the talks provides rich nations with an ideal opportunity to rethink the current situation and to come back to the negotiating table with offers that will genuinely help developing countries.î
The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund is the official overseas aid and development agency of the Catholic Church in Scotland. It supports programmes for change among poor people in Africa, Asia and Latin America, responds to emergency appeals, and campaigns for a more just world.
SCIAF makes it clear that it supports poor people regardless of race, religion or creed.
Meanwhile Christian Aid said that the collapse of the trade talks removed the single most important weapon in the fight against global poverty.
ìIt seems that the selfish intransigence of the US and Europe has finally wrecked any chance of a successful outcome for these trade talks which were meant to help developing countries,î said Dr Claire Melamed, Christian Aidís senior trade analyst.
ìPoor countries desperately needed a fair trade deal so that they could grow out of poverty and not rely on hand outs. This tawdry squabbling at the rich worldís high table has now put paid to that. It is a disgraceful outcome of which leaders of the European Union and America should be ashamed,î she declared.
Dr Melamed added that the future of the WTO was now in serious doubt. ìHow can this allegedly great trading organisation continue to function when it cannot perform the basics of what it was designed for?î
ìThis an extremely serious matter and I suspect we are back to the drawing board on trade ñ with all the damaging consequences that will have for poor countries,î she added.
Christian Aid was commenting on reports that the latest ëlast-ditchí bid to resurrect the Doha Development round of talks by the G6 group of nations (America, the EU, Japan, India, Brazil and Australia) has also crashed.
[Also on Ekklesia: Christians push World Trade Organization for justice; Catholic aid agency says EU and US stalling trade talks; Millions of world’s poorest workers face new year misery; Faith groups emphasise ‘trade for people’; Grant trade justice, aid and church groups tell Peter Mandelson; Trade justice event to be biggest lobby this year; Santa tells Tony Blair to Make Poverty History; Trade justice hangs in the balance]