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Demonstrations, Activists and Trade in Seattle: Press Reactions December 1 The riots that kept the ministers and visiting delegations from around the world from doing their work at the WTO Ministerial were the subject of universal reporting and in some cases condemnation in the world press. The Jornal do Brasil said that “the rioters left the 30,000 demonstrators organized by the NGO’s and labor unions as the ‘main dish,’” and Foreign Minister Luis Felipe Lampreia of Brazil said that “the protests ask for new and old protectionism aimed mainly at the exports of the developing countries.” Jornal reporters emphasized the “carnival-like and…strong anarchic spirit” of the demonstrators. Clarín of Buenos Aires, El Tiempo of Bogotá and El Universal of Mexico City all reported the events in Seattle, but with little comment. Their reports frequently referred to close calls their own countries’ delegations had with the demonstrators. December 2 By December 2, the press was focusing a bit more on what had happened in the working groups the day before. The Jornal do Brasil of course focused on the most important issue for the Southern Cone countries - agriculture. It reported that a proposal tabled by the Europeans contained many items that were not in the interest of Brazil, including points dealing with investment, periods of implementation, market access and transparency. The EC proposal did not eliminate subsidies or submit agriculture to the same disciplines as other traded goods, and it introduced the concept of the multifunctionality of agriculture. According to Jornal, Brazil is in favor of ending anti-dumping abuses, especially by the US, by preventing the implementation of such measures until at least one year of imports has occurred. It also agrees with extending more time to developing countries to implement intellectual property rules from the Uruguay Round. The newspaper speculated that the USG would support the Brazilian position regarding the ending of subsidies but that it would allow the multifunctionality concept to be included. Jornal reported progress toward an investment regime and asserted that the EC had given in to the USG on the issue of establishing a special WTO committee to study biotechnology. Clarín (Buenos Aires) was pleased that agriculture was at the center of discussion at the meeting but identified two issues of greatest concern to Argentina - the new concept of functionality of agriculture invented by the Europeans to justify protectionism, and agriculture subsidies. Argentine Minister Di Tella rejected the inclusion of multifunctionality in the agreement (the Secretary of Agriculture of the new government, Antonio Berhongaray, attended all meetings) and Clarín reported that interest regarding subsidies revolved around a question of word choice: “eliminate,” as favored by the Cairns Group (including the USG), or “reduce,” as favored by the EC. El Tiempo (Bogotá) reported Foreign Commerce Minister Marta Lucía Ramírez as saying that labor considerations and environmental considerations were the two stones in the shoe of the WTO meeting. In this context, the paper reported President Clinton’s remarks about cutting imports from countries that do not comply with international labor standards. It added that, according to Ramírez, Colombia and most other developing countries, plus Canada and Sweden, oppose adding labor standards to this negotiation. El Tiempo noted that the EC had presented the only compromise text so far, addressing 15 issues including the most delicate – agriculture. The EC proposal sought to bridge the gap between the various blocs, offering progressive reductions in support and subsidies and improvements in disciplines. It also pledged to help exporters and open EC markets, especially to the least-developed countries. El Universal (Mexico City) reported that two wars were going on in Seattle, one in the streets with demonstrators and the other in the WTO meetings. The paper identified three significant issues: agriculture, labor rights and environmental factors. Mexico, in spite of the speech by President Clinton, maintained its position and, in the words of Trade Secretary Herminio Blanco, opposed the “contamination of the WTO agenda” with these issues, arguing that they should be dealt with “in their own milieu.” According to El Universal, Mexico believes that the WTO should address issues of implementation by developing countries and of lowering barriers for non-agricultural exports. December 3 and 4 Clarín reported the same material about the splits among major trading countries regarding agriculture subsidies, the desire of President Clinton to inject the issue of domestic labor as a sanctionable issue under trade policy and its rejection by many developing countries, and other issues. However, the paper continued to hold out hope for a last-minute deal on the most important issue, agriculture—especially with regard to the reduction and eventual elimination of export subsidies. Jornal do Brasil quoted Foreign Minister Lampreia as saying that four major issues prevented or complicated agreement on an agenda for trade talks: agricultural subsidies (and, in general, treating agriculture with the same disciplines as other traded goods), US anti-dumping policies, introduction of labor and environmental issues into trade policy, and market access. El Tiempo reported the last-minute calls by President Clinton to his Japanese and EC counterparts, which seemed to hold hope for a last-minute agreement. The reintroduction of the multifunctionality concept drowned the agriculture talks, which were of cardinal interest to Colombia. The African, Caribbean and Latin American countries issued joint declarations that criticized the developed countries for excluding them from negotiations in the “green room.” A group of Latin American countries, including Colombia (but not Brazil, Argentina or Mexico), signed a communiqué criticizing the organization of the WTO meeting and the lack of security (Colombian Trade Minister Ramírez felt threatened by demonstrators in a close encounter). On December 4, El Universal reported the opposition of many developing countries to the actions of the USG, EC, Canada and Japan, in particular for excluding them from the important negotiations on major issues. Mexico strongly opposed the USG in its efforts to introduce labor standards into the trade talks, and called this a disguised form of protectionism. On December 6, the paper said that many observers in Latin America and Africa blamed the USG for the WTO meeting’s failure, but noted last-minute efforts by President Clinton to urge the major players to soften their positions. It also mentioned European intransigence and the introduction of many new issues, most notably labor and environmental standards. El Universal concluded by opining that blame “must be paid”; if not, it predicted, the member countries will reconvene in Geneva with the same positions and agenda and will fail again. |