Mandelson calls for African countries to raise their voice in Doha talks
11 Feb '06
3 min read
Speaking yesterday in Port Louis, Mauritius to an audience of African Trade Ministers, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has called on ACP and G90 developing countries to play a key role in the ongoing DDA trade negotiations.
Mandelson urged the G90 to define their own interests in the Doha Round and assert the importance of recognising the differing interests of different developing countries and not be "swept along by others with different economic interests."
"The different interests of developing countries have to be recognised in the DDA. Hong Kong brought out these divergences... Between the rapidly emerging economies without tariff preferences and the G-90 with them; between those who want aggressive liberalisation - in agriculture, at least - and those, like Mauritius and similar developing countries, who 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 and the G90 do not have identical interests and capacities in trade... But that also requires on your part a willingness to assert your own demands, rather than be swept along by others with different economic interests."
Mandelson argued that boosting African trade meant new market access with developing countries. He urged ACP countries to pressure larger developing countries:
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