World Trade Organisation – Trade unions at the Hong Kong ministerial meeting

World Trade Organisation - Trade unions at the Hong Kong ministerial meeting

Most people can be forgiven for not noticing the outcomes of the WTO Hong Ministerial which concluded on the 18 December 2005. Despite much hype earlier in the year surrounding the importance of the event to increasing global trade and tackling global poverty, identifying it as the last and possibly most vital meeting of a trinity comprising it and the G8 summit at Gleneagles in July and UN World Summit in New York in September. However in the months leading up to the ministerial the air was full of the noise of trade ministers and officials 'scaling down expectations.' Indicating that the best that could be hoped for was an agreement that talks would continue in 2006 and that firm time bound guidelines for how the negotiations would proceed in 2006 would be set, the so called 'full modalities. As it became increasingly clear that despite the rhetoric the EU and US (and other developed countries) were unable to agree the compromises necessary, in particular in relation to the reform of agricultural protection and subsidies, that would unlock the talks, hopes of any substantial progress on creating a more level global playing field for developing countries evaporated and concerns that whatever did emerge would be more of the same diet of untrammelled liberalisation and multi-national friendly market opening increased.

Setting aside the issue of whether there was ever the potential to achieve a 'pro-development' agreement at the ministerial all sides agreed that the outcome was deeply disappointing. Supporters of the talks maintained that limited progress had been made in agreeing to fix modalities on agricultural talks in 2006 by April and an end date for the elimination of export subsidies in agricultural was set for 2013 (with export subsidies for cotton going by the end of 2006). On Non Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) agreement was reached on using the 'Swiss Formula' with different co-efficient for developed and developing countries to work out levels of tariff reductions. However the details of how this will work and what flexibilities developing countries will be allowed remain disturbingly vague.

In the third main area of negotiations Services an attempt was made to adopt text which had not been agreed to in advance by the vast majority of WTO members and which would have lead to even greater imbalances in trade between rich and poor countries. Whilst much of this text was later removed or watered down the potential threat remains great and trade unionists and others will need to watch develops on GATS closely throughout the first half of 2006. A small number of measures found their way into a development package but even here the demand that the 30 Least Developed Countries (LDC's) be given duty free access to developed countries was blocked by the US who feared that textile imports would threaten their domestic producers and in the end duty free access was agreed for 97% of LDC products. In regard to the specific trade union agenda of ensuring a link between adherence to ILO core labour standards and participation in the WTO no progress was made, although a paragraph calling for greater coherence between the WTO and UN bodies survived into the final outcomes document.

Alongside the main ministerial many other meetings and protests took place including a two part seminar organised jointly by the ICFTU, WCL, Solidar and Global Progressive forum focusing on trade, employment and workers rights with speakers including; Pascal Lamy, WTO Director General, Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for trade and Industry and Peter Mandelson, EU Trade Commissioner. Initially the main protest marches and events were largely peaceful. However trouble flared on the last day when protesters including contingents of Korean farmers and trade unionists clashed with Hong Kong Riot police. Around 15 people remain in custody or on bail in Hong Kong awaiting charges. The TUC together with international colleagues have written to the Hong Kong authorities calling for the immediate release of those still being held and the dropping of all charges.

More information on the full outcome of the ministerial and TUC involvement will be posted on the TUC website and more detailed analysis of the final text can be found on the ICFTU website http://www.ituc-csi.org/?displaydocument.asp?Index=991223288&Language=EN