Brussels, 10/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - Speaking on Thursday in Port Louis, Mauritius, to an audience of African trade ministers, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson called on ACP and G90 countries to play a key role in the ongoing Doha Development Round (DDA) negotiations, urging them to demand that Brazil and India open up their manufactured goods markets rather than trying to get the EU to make further concessions on farm products. Peter Mandelson said: 'The different interests of developing countries have to be recognised in the DDA. Hong Kong brought out these divergences… Between the rapidly emergency economies without tariff preferences and the G90 with them; between those who want aggressive liberalisation - in agriculture, at least - and those, like Mauritius and similar developing countries, which need a greater comfort zone to adjust gradually to global trade, increased competition and reduced preferences… Recognising these differences is not an attempt to 'divide and rule'… differentiation between developing countries is a moral imperative that will help development, not impede it. So let us do away with the politically correct fallacy that developing countries are all alike and have the same interests. The G20 (emerging economies' negotiating group, Ed.) and the G90 (developing countries' negotiating group, Ed.) do not have identical interests and capacities in trade.' Peter Mandelson argued that boosting African trade meant new market access with developing countries and urged ACP countries (African, Pacific and Caribbean) to put pressure on larger developing countries: 'South-South trade is already 40% of developing countries' exports. But barriers are still high. 70% of duties paid today by developing countries are paid to other developing countries, chiefly on industrial not agricultural goods. Small countries like Mauritius and most of sub-Saharan Africa can profit handsomely from selling more to big countries like Brazil, India or South Africa. That is why we need to encourage the G20 countries to open their markets more… to agriculture, industrial goods and services.' Commissioner Mandelson added: 'We are also putting friendly but firm pressure on big developing countries to open their markets … Help us to do that, in a reasonable and proportionate way.'
Peter Mandelson spoke to his G90 partners of the EU's frustration with the refusal by some African countries to open up their service markets (transport, infrastructure, financial services and communications), urging ACP states to 'tap into the benefits' of wider services trade: 'I am … convinced that it is in some G90 countries' interest to tap into the developmental benefits of services trade and I am glad that Mauritius has participated actively in these negotiations. Encouraging inward investment in sectors like transport, telecommunications and financial services - the hard wiring of any economy - is the foundation for sustainable growth. Developing countries need a strong service base to their economy and this should be reflected in the submission of revised offers,' to be lodged by the end of July this year.
On Friday, the Trade Commissioner travelled to South Africa to attend the 7th Progressive Governance Summit in Pretoria on 11 and 12 February, attended by Thabo Mbeki, the President of South Africa, Lula Da Silva, the President of Brazil, Tony Blair, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, Pascal Lamy, Director General of the World Trade Organisation, and other politicians.
In London on 10 and 11 March, Peter Mandelson will be attending the G6 meeting of big WTO trading powers (the EU, the United States, India, Brazil, Argentina and Japan).