From Africa Recovery, Vol.13#4 (December 1999), page 35 (box within article on trade)
Africa's agenda for the WTO
Africa brought a set of common demands to the WTO Ministerial meeting. They drew on a series of reports and consultations concluded during the months leading up to the Seattle conference, including a July African Economic Community (ECA) meeting in Addis Ababa, a September ministerial meeting of the ECA and Organization of African Unity in Algiers, and the "Positive Agenda for Developing Countries in Future Trade Negotiations," issued by the UN Conference on Trade and Development in November. The following summarizes some of the main points.
For a 'development round'
African countries argue that the industrial North has largely failed to
implement key provisions of existing WTO agreements that benefit developing
countries, and has interpreted others in ways that erode Africa's competitive
advantage in such areas as agriculture, textiles and leather goods. African
governments have therefore called for a "development round" of
trade negotiations to review implementation of the current Uruguay Round
accords. Africa is strongly opposed to the European Union's call for an
expanded "millennium round" of negotiations on such complex and
sensitive issues as investment, competition policy, government procurement
and electronic commerce.
Maintaining 'special and differential' treatment
Many of the trade rules intended to benefit developing countries, including
"special and differential" exemptions from certain WTO requirements,
were set to expire on 1 January 2000. Grain marketing mechanisms needed
to avert famine, for example, may run contrary to WTO provisions on market
access. African ministers call for maintaining and expanding such existing
exemptions and for a formal review of implementation procedures by the North.
Opening Northern markets
The World Bank estimates that high tariffs, anti-dumping regulations and
technical barriers to trade in industrial countries cost sub-Saharan Africa
$20 bn annually in lost exports. Africa wants current WTO rules reviewed
to force open Northern markets to African exports and remove tariffs on
all imports from least developed countries (LDCs).
Coordinating trade with investment and aid
African countries argue that they are often caught between the conflicting
demands of bilateral aid donors, multilateral lending agencies and the WTO,
while the decline in official development assistance and insufficient foreign
direct investment makes it harder to produce new goods and services for
export. Africa therefore seeks greater coordination among international
aid, trade and investment policies.
Technology transfers and technical assistance
African and other developing countries accuse the industrialized North of
failing to abide by previous agreements to transfer industrial and information
technology and provide the degree of technical assistance required by the
South to implement WTO agreements. Africa seeks a review of the agreements
on investment and intellectual property to increase technology transfer
to developing countries, as well as more time to implement certain highly
technical WTO agreements.
No patents on life forms, biological processes
The Africa Group has called for changing the Uruguay Round agreement on
Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to prohibit
the patenting of life forms and biological processes. African countries
maintain that the TRIPS agreement should be consistent with the UN Convention
on Biological Diversity, which takes into full account the sustainable use
of plant and animal resources and the rights and knowledge of indigenous
communities. The Africa Group also argues that the TRIPS agreement should
be applied to essential medicines in a way that ensures their availability
at reasonable cost.
Labour and environmental standards
While acknowledging the importance of labour and environmental standards,
African governments oppose their incorporation within the WTO framework,
viewing such linkages as justification for greater protectionism by developed
countries. Africa supports improved coordination between the WTO and the
International Labour Organisation on trade-related labour matters and finds
the WTO's existing Committee on Trade and Environment adequate for environmental
issues within its competence.
Regional trade agreements
Africa seeks to continue the existing waiver permitting regional trade agreements,
including the Lomé Convention (see article "ACP countries defend
trade preferences"), as well as efforts toward freer trade within African
sub-regions by the Economic Community of West African States and the Southern
African Development Community. These arrangements sometimes offer greater
advantages to Africa than do the WTO agreements.
Easing membership
Africa supports an accelerated, transparent and simplified membership process
for developing countries seeking to enter the WTO. The process should include
expanded technical assistance to applicants to ensure both fulfillment of
WTO membership criteria and effective participation by new members.
[Back to index] [To Volume13#4 -- full graphics]
Material from this article may be freely reproduced, with attribution
to "Africa Recovery, United Nations".
We would appreciate a copy of the reproduction.
Africa Recovery
Room S-931
United Nations
New York, NY 10017 USA
Tel: (212) 963-6857
Fax: (212) 963-4556
Email: africa_recovery@un.org
Website: www.africarecovery.org
Contact us by email: africa_recovery@un.org