Civil Society Statement
G33 Ministers’ Meeting
Jakarta, Indonesia
March 21, 2007
We are the small women and men farmers, indigenous people, fisherfolk, non-government organizations, research and advocacy groups and other agricultural stakeholders calling on the G33 to resist the underhanded acts of the United States, European Union and other WTO members to undermine the right of developing countries? to protect agricultural
sector.
We are alarmed by the presence of WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, European Union Ambassador Peter Mandelson and US trade delegates in the G33 meeting today. The United States continues to criticize the Special Products and Special Safeguards Mechanism in its public statements. Wefear that the presence of WTO DG Lamy, EU and US delegates in the meeting will erode the G33?s position on SPs and SSM.
The protection of livelihood, food security and rural development should remain at the heart of the Doha Development Round. The Doha Development Agenda should address the imbalances of the past agreement on agriculture one of the ways of addressing these imbalances is to give developing countries? right to raise tariffs and impose quantitative restrictions on imports without any compensation.
We urge G33 to reject the proposals of the US, World Bank and other countries and institutions seeking to undermine developing countries? right to use Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism to respond to their food security, livelihood security and rural development objectives.
We particularly call on G33 to adhere to the position on:
Special Products
Coverage: Special products should comprise 20 percent or more of all agricultural tariff lines.
Indicators: The national governments should involve stakeholders, especially small women and men farmers, indigenous peoples and fisherfolk in the identification of special products, and on all issues related to SPs and SSM. Gender-based indicators should also be included in identifying special products.
Treatment: No tariff reduction or TRQ commitments on special products. We reiterate our call that special products should have higher levels of protection such as increasing tariffs higher than the bound rates and imposing quantitative restrictions on importation, when necessary.
Special Safeguard Mechanism
Coverage: All agricultural products should have access to SSM because import surges and price volatility affect every product.
Triggers: SSM should be available once price or volume trigger is breached. Each country should have the right to define the level of import surge by itself.
Remedies: SSM duties should not be confined to the current bound rates. Developing countries should have the flexibility to impose quantitative restrictions in case of import surge or price fluctuation.
We are concerned with emerging Free Trade Agreements that are limiting the developing countries? capability to use SP and SSM to address the needs of small women and men farmers, indigenous peoples, fisherfolk and other agricultural stakeholders. We urge the G33 governments to recast all FTAs in a manner consistent with the right of developing countries to protect the livelihoods of small women and men farmers, indigenous people, and fisherfolk.
We urge the G33 governments to stop adopting unilateral import liberalization policies and domestic liberalization of the farming sector that are marginalizing small women and men farmers, indigenous people, fisherfolk and other agricultural stakeholders.
We urge G33 not to limit advocacy only to SPs and SSM but to aggressively push for substantial reduction if not total elimination of trade distorting domestic support and subsidies. We also urge G33 to move for the creation of disciplines in all boxes and de minimis to inhibit the developed countries from box shifting tactics.
We also urge G33 to reject the reinstatement of ?peace clause?.
We call upon our governments to provide necessary support to meet our food security, livelihood and rural development needs.
We call on civil society organizations to actively engage their governments and regional bodies such as ASEAN, SAARC and other bodies in Latin America and Africa on issues on trade and development.