2009 March to Parliament
RESIST IMPERIALIST GLOBALISATION
PUT A STOP TO THE WTO
Assemble at Ferozshah Road, Mandi House at 10.30am on 3 September and March to Parliament to oppose the 3-4 September Trade Ministersl Meeting.
NTUI and other democratic and progressive organisations are marching to Parliament to oppose the 3-4 September Trade Ministerial Meeting. Gather in large numbers at the Ferozshah Road corner of Mandi House at 10.30 a.m, on 3 September 2009 to join this resistance.
The stalled WTO talks promoting further free trade are back on track! The recent joint declaration by the rich G-8 countries and the G-5 developing economies (Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa) has committed to conclude the WTO Doha Trade Round by 2010. Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, in a series of secret meetings abroad, committed to global leaders that India is willing to help resolve the ‘WTO impasse’. Meanwhile, the WTO has announced that its 7th Ministerial Conference will be held from Nov 30- Dec 2, 2009 in Geneva.
In a hasty and reckless move, the Government of India has also committed India to host an ambitious meeting of over 20 Trade Ministers from select WTO members (September 3-4 2009 in New Delhi) to move the Doha talks forward. That WTO Director General Pascal Lamy participation in the Government of India’s initiative is clearly indicative of a ‘behind the scene’ deal in moving the WTO forward. The Government’s sudden proactive stance on the WTO will have far-reaching, irreversible and adverse consequences for the country’s economy and polity, particularly for the working people including the peasantry, exacerbating the impacts of the financial and agrarian crisis and further increasing the dependency of India’s industrial economy on advanced economies.
India stands to lose on all key areas under negotiation – agriculture, fisheries, industrial tariffs, services and intellectual property. The EU and USA will not reduce their agricultural subsidies or accept demands in sectors such as services. In fact their subsidies may actually increase in the proposed agriculture agreement. However, they are demanding that countries such as India enforce deep cuts in agricultural and industrial tariffs and open up market access in key services sectors affecting such as retail and construction and liberalise those such as banking and insurance—-leading to further financial crises, increased costs and loss of both competitiveness and jobs.
In the latest WTO draft, protective provisions intended for our peasantry to prevent import surges and protect key crops have been rendered ineffective. Finally, the tariff reductions and other demands in the non-agriculture negotiations which include fisheries, other natural resources and industrial products will actually force us to cut our WTO customs duties sharply. This will have enormous impacts on our organised and unorganised sectors and the future of our manufacturing and fisheries sectors. In contrast rich countries will commit to much lower reductions in their duties.
The averments of the Ministry of Commerce, are well beyond the manifesto commitments on the WTO of the various parties in the UPA Government, as such indicate that the Government’s intended actions will allow the expansion of neo-liberal and imperialist forces in the country. It is imperative that any position that the UPA Government pursues on the WTO is set out in a white paper and discussed in the Parliament and the Government should not be allowed to make any commitments without consulting the parliament and state legislatures.