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BY Chino S. Leyco
, Researcher
Peasant groups have accused
visiting World Trade Organization chief Pascal Lamy of trying to
pressure the Philippine government to change its position on delayed
global trade talks.
In a briefing, Rice Watch and
Action (R1) and other coalition of nongovernment organizations in
the agriculture sector said Lamy should stop acting as spokesman for
the United States and European Union to pressure the government to
surrender its domestic interest in the global trade negotiations.
“We warn President Arroyo and
her trade negotiators against committing unjust trade deals with
Lamy only to ensure that WTO’s Doha round negotiations will
continue,” the group told reporters Thursday.
During the briefing, Walden Bello,
University of the Philippines professor, expressed grave concern
over Lamy’s possible move to carry out a divide-and-rule tactic in
softening the Philippine and Indonesian positions on special
products (SP) and special safeguard mechanism (SSM).
“SP and SSM are the only
possible relief for rural industries incapable of competing under a
full-blown trade liberalization,” Bello said.
In WTO Hong Kong Ministerial
Declaration December in 2005, the Philippines is allowed specified
number of agricultural SP with zero or minimum tariff reduction
The SSM, meanwhile, allows the
country to implement safety nets for local farmers against increased
volume of imports and distorted prices.
A group of developing countries
(G33) pushed for SP and SSM and succeeded in including it in the
2005 declaration.
Earlier, Lamy warned that
developing countries could face “disastrous” consequences if the
faltering talks on the Doha round fail to make progress.
“They would be much better off
with the tariff and subsidy cuts already tabled in global trade
talks,” Lamy said.
He flew in from Indonesia
Thursday and is scheduled to meet today with President Arroyo
together with Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and Trade Secretary
Peter Favila at Malacañang.
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