Ireland's allegiance to the EU position in the World Trade Organisation talks undermines our commitment to poorer countries, writes Conall Ó Caoimh.
A veil of secrecy shrouds not only the World Trade Organisation (WTO) but also Irish and EU input into that trade-rules making body. When today the Dáil debates for the first time in many years Ireland's position in the WTO, not even it will ascertain how Ireland speaks within the secret "133 Committee" where EU positions are worked out. Yet issues of vast national and international importance are determined at the WTO.
Hopefully the debate will show how the negotiations hailed as the Doha Development Round continue to marginalise development concerns. Last weekend African trade ministers expressed "deep concern" at the failure of WTO members to meet deadlines in the WTO talks. Poor countries will have to concede more to resolve life-or-death issues such as access to essential medicines.
The EU can finger-point at the US on the medicines issue. However, on agriculture the EU, (with Ireland prominent among the foot-draggers) is resisting remedying current injustices. The EU and US dump food surpluses in developing countries, ruining the local farm economy, and restrict their access to our markets.
The IFA is raising a false alarm about yesterday's CAP reform deal. It says dairy farmers will lose out by 25 per cent. The true cut will be just 4 per cent and even this will still come to Ireland through the back door of rural development funds. Meanwhile, Jamaican dairy farmers go out of business as EU-subsidised milk-powder undersells theirs.
Nor will India's ten million unsubsidised dairy farmers have access to Gulf or Asian markets, never mind European shop shelves. How ever can they break out of poverty?
Whatever concessions the EU does make on CAP are not motivated by kindness, but so that developing countries agree at the next round of talks in Cancun, Mexico, to open up their markets to our banks, insurance, construction companies and engineers. Developing countries will lose jobs and ownership in these areas.
Ireland has strong interests in open international trade. However, in tandem with other rich countries, we have an uncanny ability to preach liberalisation in the areas in which industrial countries are competitive, and to resist competition in the areas where poor countries might earn their own way out of poverty. This is all the more insidious when the opening up of most Third World countries has been forced by World Bank and IMF conditions, and Western political weight.
But the rich countries have fought tooth and nail to ward off trade in the areas where the poor countries are more competitive: agriculture and textiles.
The largest single decision to be made by trade ministers in Mexico is whether to add four new areas to the remit of the WTO. The EU is the strongest proponent of these new areas: investment, government procurement, competition policy, and trade facilitation. Comhlámh and Trade Justice Ireland see some good sense in certain of these areas. However, not at the WTO with its mandate of "progressive liberalisation".
If foreign investors' rights are to be expanded, so too should their duties. If you need to consider investment rights, do so at the UN where citizens' and states' rights also count.
Improving transparency in government procurement is obviously a good thing. But, as African governments point out, when done through the WTO, it will also open local contracts to international bidders. While Irish manufacturers might gain access to Tanzanian government contracts, it is difficult to see Tanzanian companies frequently winning Irish business.
Free trade can only be fair if the pitch is level. Giving the WTO authority to enforce competition would undermine small states' ability to determine their own course.
The existing work of the WTO (with about 3,000 meetings per year) already over-stretches developing countries' ability to participate meaningfully in what are highly technical negotiations. . For poor countries, implementation of agreements can also be very expensive (e.g. computerising import procedures) and drains skilled personnel from education and health.
Rich countries seem to prefer to give generously to the poor, while refusing to deal justly with them. Last year Ireland Aid gave almost €20 million in very valuable development assistance to Mozambique. However, Mozambique, which is highly competitive in the production of sugar, was denied the dignity of earning €64 million for itself in sugar sales to Nigeria and Algeria. Instead, Mozambique was outdone by uncompetitive, subsidised, EU sugar exports. If this persists, Mozambique will continue needing our aid for a long time to come.
We seem happy to teach the poor to fish, and at this stage many of them are as well able to fish as we are. But rich countries will not let them near the river!
Conall Ó Caoimh is policy officer at Comhlámh, the Irish Association of Development Workers.
Trade Justice Ireland is a coalition of 15 development organisations and unions seeking justice in trade rules.