APEC Members Pledge Effort to Avoid Trade Protectionism: Are President-elect Obama and the US Congress Listening??

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/apec-leaders-vow-to-stick-with-free-markets/2008/11/23/1227375062156.html


APEC leaders vow to stick with free markets




Mark Davis Political Correspondent in Lima



The Sydney Morning Herald



November 24, 2008

ASIA-PACIFIC political leaders have promised not to resort to protectionism as the world's economies slow sharply in coming months after hearing a strong plea from the outgoing US President, George Bush, to maintain their commitment to free markets despite the global financial turmoil.

In a statement last night, the leaders of the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum also agreed to the recovery plan endorsed a week earlier by the G20 grouping, which calls on governments to stimulate their economies to insulate them from the global slowdown.

The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, joined his counterparts from the US and China in pressing hard for the annual APEC summit to make a commitment in favour of free trade because of concerns that a revival of protectionism could turn the global financial meltdown into a deep recession as occurred in the 1930s.

Australian officials attending the summit in Lima, Peru, said the APEC statement was significant because it extended the commitment to the G20's Washington Declaration to the 11 APEC countries that are not also members of the G20 group.

They said the language of the APEC leaders' statement was even stronger than the Washington Declaration because it gave a "commitment" to achieve a break-through by the end of the year in the Doha round of multilateral trade talks, which aim to free up trade in agricultural products, manufactured goods and services.

The statement acknowledged that in many countries, slowing economic growth would lead to political pressure to erect trade barriers to protect local companies but said protectionist measures would only worsen the economic situation. "We strongly support the Washington Declaration and will refrain within the next 12 months from raising new barriers to investment or trade in goods and services [and from] imposing new export restrictions," it said.

Australian officials believe the pro-free trade statement will send a message to the US president-elect Barack Obama, who will ultimately, with the European Union and the developing countries of Brazil, India and China, be the big players in securing a new free trade deal in the Doha talks.

[See, e.g.: Congressman Rangel and Other House Ways & Means Committee Majority Members Provide Political Cover for Clinton & Obama to Promote Trade Protectionism, ITSSD Journal on Disguised Trade Barriers, at: http://itssddisguisedtradebarriers.blogspot.com/2008/04/house-ways-means-committee-chairs-play.html ];

[See, e.g.: Trade Expert Criticizes Obama & Blue Party's Prescription for Economic Change: Adoption of the European Trade Strategy Known as 'Export-Protectionism', ITSSD Journal on Disguised Trade Barriers, at: http://itssddisguisedtradebarriers.blogspot.com/2008/09/trade-expert-criticizes-obama-blue.html ];

[See, e.g.: Africa Suffers From European Protectionism Yet Again: Is This What EURObama's Embedded Carbon/ Carbon Tariff-Focused US Trade Policies Would Achieve?, ITSSD Journal on Disguised Trade Barriers, at: http://itssddisguisedtradebarriers.blogspot.com/2008/09/africa-suffers-from-european.html ];

[See, e.g.: Princeton University Global Governance Advocate Calls for New Wave of American Regulatory Socialism in the Image of European Protectionism, ITSSD Journal on Disguisted Trade Barriers, at: http://itssddisguisedtradebarriers.blogspot.com/2008/06/princeton-university-global-governance.html ];

[See, e.g.: OBAMA-BROWN-MICHAUD Non-Tariff Trade Barrier Act Likely to Devastate US Economy, Trigger a Global Trade War & Endanger World Peace, ITSSD Journal on Disguised Trade Barriers, at: http://itssddisguisedtradebarriers.blogspot.com/2008/06/us-trading-partners-beware-obama.html ].

The APEC summit is likely to be Mr Bush's last international gathering before he hands over to Mr Obama in January. He urged the gathering not to lose faith in free markets and called for an Asia-Pacific region of "free markets, free trade and free people".

"It is also essential that governments resist the temptation to overcorrect by imposing regulations that would stifle innovation and strangle growth," he said. "One of the enduring lessons of the Great Depression is that global protectionism is a path to global economic ruin."

The financial crisis is widely regarded as the most severe since the stockmarket crash of 1929. Economic historians believe it was the outbreak of "tit for tat" protectionism later which turned that crash into a global depression by stifling trade.

Earlier yesterday, Mr Rudd and Indonesia's President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, announced their governments would set up a disaster reduction facility in Jakarta to help the region's poorest countries prepare for natural catastrophes.

Research commissioned by the two leaders found the Asia-Pacific faced an era of big disasters as urbanisation, climate change and food shortages magnified the effect of events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and storms.

An assessment by Geoscience Australia said there were likely to be several disasters each year killing more than 10,000 people and there was great potential for huge catastrophes affecting more than one million people.

Mr Rudd said the Government would spend $67 million over the next five years on the disaster reduction facility.

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27858912/

APEC leaders: No new trade barriers



President Bush: ‘Global protectionism is a path to global economic ruin’



The Associated Press


updated 10:32 p.m. ET, Sat., Nov. 22, 2008

LIMA, Peru - Leaders who oversee half the world’s economy pledged Saturday to avoid protectionism but shied away from any new proposals on the financial crisis because of somebody who wasn’t there: U.S. President-elect Barack Obama.

The 21 leaders endorsed last weekend’s agreement by major world economies to resist domestic pressures to protect industries, while ensuring that small and medium-sized companies have enough credit to stay afloat.

“We strongly support the Washington Declaration and will refrain within the next 12 months from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services (and from) imposing new export restrictions,” leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum said in a joint declaration.

They also pledged to reach agreement next month on the outlines of a World Trade Organization pact that collapsed in July after seven years of negotiations. Concern over the global financial crisis injected new urgency into the so-called Doha round of trade talks.

The leaders called for greater APEC participation in the International Monetary Fund and other multilateral lenders. Japan said last week it was ready to lend up to $100 billion to the IMF, but

China has so far resisted entreaties to dig into its $1.9 trillion in reserves.

Leaders speak out against protectionismDelegates said, however, that there was little incentive to propose more concrete action without the support of Obama, who takes office in January and did not send representatives to Lima.

“The next U.S. administration must assume leadership in a very firm manner — not just for Americans but for the whole world,” Mexican President Felipe Calderon said in a speech before heading into closed-door meetings that produced the resolution.

Even people who work for the White House’s outgoing occupant, George W. Bush, acknowledged that tough issues such as a stalled U.S.-South Korea free-trade agreement would likely have to wait.

However, Bush did attempt to persuade allies to secure a North Korea disarmament deal before he leaves office, pushing hard for a late, legacy-shaping win. The White House announced that all nations engaged in the showdown with North Korea would meet in China in early December.

That nudge in the process alone was a boost to Bush, whose government is eager to lock in an international agreement on how to accurately verify North Korea’s nuclear capabilities.

Leader after leader at Saturday's forum spoke out against protectionism, saying it would bring devastating consequences.

“Companies will go bankrupt and countless jobs will be lost, and poor nations and poor people will suffer the most damage,” South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told business executives.

Bush said nations must not respond to the crisis by “imposing regulations that would stifle innovation and choke off growth.”

“One of the enduring lessons of the Great Depression is that global protectionism is a path to global economic ruin,” he said.

Free-trade success stories

The leaders argued their case with free-trade success stories. Lee, former head of the Hyundai group, said open markets were central to boosting his nation’s per-capita annual income from $100 in the 1960s to $20,000 today. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the North American Free Trade Agreement has tripled trade and created 40 million jobs.

But Nick Reilly, president of General Motors Corp. Asia-Pacific, said the leaders all will face intense pressure at home to protect their most vulnerable markets.

[U.S. GOVERNMENT PROTECTION OF THE U.S. AUTO INDUSTRY WOULD BE UNNECESSARY IF GENERAL MOTORS MANAGEMENT HAD DONE ITS JOB CORRECTLY WHICH IT HAS LONG FAILED TO DO. IF GENERAL MOTORS MANAGEMENT HAS ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THE U.S. & GLOBAL AUTO MARKETS, IT CERTAINLY HAS NOT BEEN REFLECTED IN MOST OF THE PRODUCTS IT HAS MANUFACTURED DURING THE PAST 40 YEARS!! ITS MANAGEMENT HAS REPEATEDLY TAKEN THE U.S. CONSUMER FOR GRANTED AND ASSUMED THE AMERICAN MARKETPLACE WOULD CONTINUE TO ACCEPT LESS THAN MARKET-STANDARD QUALITY PRODUCTS. SUCH MISCALCULATION HAS BEEN VERY COSTLY, AS MANIFESTED MOST RECENTLY WITH THE SUV CRAZE OF THE PAST DECADE. THE ONLY WAY GENERAL MOTORS CAN IMPROVE IS TO OUST ITS CURRENT CROP OF MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVES AND REPLACE THEM WITH NEW OPEN-MINDED ENTREPREURIAL BLOOD. WHILE NOT THE FOCUS OF THIS BLOG ENTRY, THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND 110TH CONGRESS ARE 100% CORRECT IN INSISTING THAT GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION PROVIDE A VIABLE RESTRUCTURING PLAN SUBJECT TO SUBSEQUENT PERIODIC FINANCIAL REVIEWS, THAT WOULD RESULT IN COMPETENT, CAPABLE DECISIONMAKING AND PROFITS IN THE SHORT & LONG TERMS, BEFORE IT COULD BE ELIGIBILE TO RECEIVE U.S. TAXPAYER MONIES. SHOULD THE U.S. GOVERNMENT DECIDE TO ASSIST GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, IT WOULD EFFECTIVELY SERVE AS THE FINANCIAL LENDER 'OF LAST RESORT', AND THUS, BE ENTITLED TO BASE ITS LOANS ON STRICT CONDITIONALITIES. 'HE WHO HOLDS THE PURSE, DETERMINES THE RULES'. IF STRUCTURED PROPERLY, THIS SHOULD NOT CONSTITUTE AN ILLEGAL GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES UNDER WTO RULES. SO, EUROPEAN AUTOMAKERS SHOULD CALM DOWN & TAKE A DEEP BREATH.]

“The economies haven’t yet seen the full impact of unemployment hit. So domestically, the leaders are going to be facing that,” Reilly told The Associated Press.

Indonesia’s trade minister, Mari Pangestu, told the AP that some protectionist measures are inevitable in the coming year or two. The secret, she said, is to not make them open-ended.

“You will have to end up protecting particular groups,” Pangestu said in an interview, giving the example of the agriculture sector in Indonesia, which accounts for 60 percent of its 237 million people.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper alluded to the tough decisions ahead when he described his recent re-election in terms that could just as easily apply to Obama.

Getting elected these days, he said, “is like winning a vacation to the Caribbean during hurricane season.”

© 2008 The Associated Press

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http://www.apec.org/apec/enewsletter/nov_vol18/onlinenewsa.html

Perspectives on 2008: A Dialogue With Peru's Ministers

APEC - E Newsletter

Leaders' Week Edition - Vol18, November 2008

In an interview with the APEC Secretariat, Peru's Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Trade shared their priorities for APEC Economic Leaders' Week which will occur in Lima between November 16-23, 2008. As co-chairs of the meeting, they previewed what will be on the agenda and expressed their hope that Ministers would be able to come to agreement on a wide range of issues.

Identifying regional solutions to the financial crisis which continues to unfold, bringing together diverse interests to achieve a conclusion for the Doha Development Agenda, and supporting structural reform and capacity building as well as new issues like corporate social responsibility all remain on the agenda.

Peru's Minister for Trade, Mercedes Araoz and Minister for Foreign Relations, José Antonio García Belaunde, discuss below their perspectives on the issues.

APEC E-Newsletter (APEC E): What are the most important issues Leaders and Ministers will focus on this November?

José Antonio García Belaunde (JAGB): We are facing the most challenging economic circumstances that we have seen in decades. Leaders will focus on shaping a regional response to the crisis. A strong economy is fundamental to achieving results in many other areas of the APEC agenda. That will also be discussed by Leaders and Ministers in November.

Mercedes Araoz (MA): The high level of the Leaders' Meeting creates a great scenario for the discussion of priority issues in the region. On November 22-23, Leaders will discuss the progress towards greater economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region, the current economic situation in the Asia-Pacific as a result of the global financial turmoil; and the important issue of climate change.

At the APEC Ministerial Meeting, to be held on 19-20 November, Ministers, will cover the main issues of this year's APEC agenda. Progress on economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region is the most important issue, as we have received from the APEC Economic Leaders in 2007, very specific instructions on how to advance this work in the current year.

Another important issue is the progress on APEC's Second Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAP II), which by 2010, aims to reduce transaction costs by a further 5%. It is worth noting that APEC is a world leader in trade facilitation.

Besides these two issues, it is important to mention the importance of APEC adopting the Investment Facilitation Action Plan during the Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting held on 31 May - 1 June in Arequipa, Peru; and on progress on behind-the-border reforms, or as it is also known, the Leaders' Agenda on Structural Reform (LAISR).

APEC E: What impact will the current financial turmoil have on the Asia-Pacific region and what, if there are any plans, does APEC have to address this issue?

MA: I am afraid that there are going to be very significant impacts in the region and in the world. A generalized reduction in the rate of growth, that I hope will be short lived, could be the most important one for all of us. Trade flows will decrease and credit will tighten.

In these dire circumstances, APEC members should reiterate their commitment to open markets and free trade as the best tools to quickly overcome this financial turmoil. A positive message that APEC could send to the rest of the world could be, for example, a declaration stating that we will not increase our barriers to trade until the financial problem is solved.

Another message could be the reiteration of APEC´s strong support for the prompt finalization of the Doha Development Round.

JAGB: The Asia-Pacific has played a pivotal role in sustaining world economic growth rates over many years and many APEC economies have experienced solid economic growth for over a decade. The problems in the financial markets may soon reach the real economy, consequently impacting on future economic growth. APEC Finance Ministers met in Peru on November 5-6. They analyzed the financial crisis and how to coordinate a response. APEC economies can support the excellent work undertaken by the Financial Stability Forum which is examining how to enhance market and institutional resilience.

APEC E: Leaders have consistently supported a successful conclusion to the Doha Round. What actions do you expect APEC Ministers and Leaders to take this year to create urgency for concluding these negotiations?

JAGB: We are very disappointed that it has not been possible to reach an agreement until now. The Round is likely to be complicated by the ongoing political and financial uncertainty. Nevertheless, the WTO has made very good progress so far on many aspects of Doha and we should keep working to achieve a result.

MA: I think that all APEC economies are disappointed by the impasse that the Doha Round had reached in July, but we believe in the early revival of negotiations. I am sure that, as APEC, we can work together to achieve an ambitious and balanced outcome of the Round.

Since its inception, support for the multilateral trading system has been a key priority in APEC´s work agenda. At this year's APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting in Arequipa, Peru, we decided to adopt a stand-alone statement to demonstrate our commitment to progress towards an early and successful conclusion of the Doha Round.

APEC E: Can you discuss the progress made on the priorities that Peru set earlier in the year?

JAGB: At the beginning of the year, Peru took responsibility for leading the implementation of the APEC agenda set out in the Sydney Declaration of 2007. These priorities included regional economic integration (REI), trade and investment liberalization and structural reform.

We are especially pleased that we have been able to raise the level of awareness of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within APEC this year. Leaders will be discussing this issue in November. This year's theme for APEC is "A New Commitment to Asia-Pacific Development" and improving levels of CSR in the region promote that goal.

MA: I really believe that this year has been a very successful one because APEC has made great progress on the main 2008 priorities.

We have advanced the regional economic integration agenda, including the prospects for a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).

We have continued with the implementation of actions to advance trade and investment liberalization and facilitation: for example, the completion of model measures for RTAs/FTAs, the endorsement of the Investment Facilitation Action Plan, the development of Key Performance Indicators for the Second Trade Facilitation Action Plan and the discussion on the rationalization of rules of origin.

We've also been working on strengthening the policy agenda on ECOTECH; especially in the areas of education, small and medium enterprises, tourism, information and communication technologies, anti-corruption and transparency.

APEC E: For the first time ever, APEC Ministers met to discuss structural reform issues this year. What approaches do you expect APEC to take in order to advance this agenda item?

JAGB: We all know that implementing structural reforms can be very difficult, but the benefits speak for themselves. APEC can support individual member economies in several ways.

The Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting held this year in Melbourne approved a Good Practice Guide on Regulatory Reform. This will help economies to voluntarily review existing regulation and assess the impact of new regulation. Most importantly, ministers agreed to voluntary reviews or self-reviews of member economies' institutional frameworks that support structural reform. I think this process will help economies focus on priority areas for reform and is a good way to exchange information on how to best tackle this challenging area.

MA: Structural reform must remain at the top of the APEC agenda. We have advanced on the implementation of the Leader's Agenda but further work is necessary.

We need to work on strengthening cooperation and coordination between the Economic Committee (those who are in charge of the structural reform issues), the Committee on Trade and Investment and the Finance Ministers' Process, as well as with the private sector.

A good step has been the establishment of the APEC Policy Support Unit which will strengthen the capacity of the APEC Secretariat to assist member economies in policy dialogue on structural reform and in strengthening domestic institutions and policies that support the reform process.

APEC E: What do you think will be Peru's main contributions to the APEC agenda this year?

JAGB: We have been committed to implementing the decisions made by Leaders last year, but additionally this year, Peru wanted to emphasize the social dimension of the APEC agenda with the inclusion of Corporate Social Responsibility, besides other issues such as education, reducing the digital gap, support for small and medium enterprise and joint efforts in anti-corruption matters. Two successful Ministerial meetings in education and in small and medium enterprises have contributed to this cause.

Regarding corporate social responsibility, Peru is keen to ensure strong compliance with labor and environmental standards but also to involve the private sector in a partnership to ensure sustainable development where they have operations.

MA: We have chaired many meetings, including Sectoral Meetings of Ministers responsible for Trade, Tourism, Small and Medium Enterprises, Education and Finance.

In the area of trade and investment, we have assumed a leading role on the discussion of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. Peru has conducted a study of existing bilateral and plurilateral free-trade agreements in the region with the aim of increasing knowledge of their similarities and differences, thereby enabling economies to identify possible ways in which the FTAAP concept could be furthered. New Zealand, the United States, Japan and Chile, as well as the IADB, have also contributed to this important activity. Moreover, we are collaborating with Korea and Indonesia on a review of existing analysis relevant to a possible FTAAP and are assessing the need for future work.

APEC E: In your view, how has APEC made progress on its issues under the theme, "A New Commitment to Asia-Pacific Development?"

MA: Peru proposed the theme "A New Commitment to Asia-Pacific Development" in order to give APEC the opportunity to work on the social dimension of its agenda. The objective is to encourage initiatives on the social issues that have a substantial influence on the advance towards the goals of trade and investment facilitation. To this end, we have highlighted the role of education in the social and economic development of member economies and have supported the development and modernization of small and medium enterprises.

JAGB: This theme reflects our approach to bridging the development gap in the region. I consider it essential to show how an open trade and investment policy can make a positive impact on economic development. But at the same time, we have to take account of the social dimension of trade, and that is why we have been promoting a greater uptake of corporate social responsibility in the region.

APEC E: How has APEC's capacity building program prepared member economies to better participate in the global economy?

MA: Capacity building programs are a vital part of the APEC process because they allow capacity to be developed in key priorities areas regarding trade and investment liberalization and economic and technical cooperation. These programs cover a wide range of activities, such as seminars, publications and research.

They allow developing economies such as Peru to learn from developed economies' experiences, in order to reduce the technological gap and enhance the economic growth and prosperity of the region.

This year, APEC has financed 21 Peruvian projects, which have been implemented successfully. They have allowed us to strengthen our knowledge of key areas of common interest in the region, such as the single window initiative and the data privacy pathfinder. For 2009, 16 projects were approved by the Budget and Management Committee meeting last October.

JAGB: Economic and technical cooperation is critical to APEC's work. This is especially true in areas such as the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises, and human resources development. APEC's commitment to capacity building demonstrates how the region as a whole works together to address the gap in the various levels of development.

APEC E: Corporate social responsibility has made it to the APEC agenda. How does this issue contribute to the economic growth of the region?

JAGB: I think CSR plays a key role at the local level to promote sustainable development. We have seen this in some projects undertaken by mining companies in remote communities of Peru, where the firm has invested in local infrastructure and development. I think it is clear that this has a positive reward for the individual company - it can improve the local workforce and promote better relations with local communities. [SORRY. CSR DOES NOT, BY ITSELF, CONTRIBUTE TO COMPANY PROFITS, REVENUE GROWTH OR EVEN MACROECONOMIC GROWTH.]

MA: We have introduced the issue of Corporate Social Responsibility on a voluntary basis to encourage the incorporation of social and environmental concerns into business operations, as a complement to existing public policies and programs.

As an example of our efforts in advancing this issue, we held the 5th Tourism Ministerial Meeting under the theme "Towards Responsible Tourism in the Asia-Pacific Region" to promote continuous sustainable growth in the tourism industry. We hope that the meetings' outcomes will help to generate income and employment in local communities and to promote the conservation and preservation of our environment, including the social and cultural aspects.

I am sure that a strong discussion on this issue could address challenges of great significance in the achievement of socio-economic development and equitable and sustainable growth.

[WE BEG TO DIFFER. THIS SOUNDS A LOT LIKE THE EUROPEAN UNION SPEAKING. THE EUROPEAN UNION HAS PERFECTED THE USE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY STANDARDS SCHEMES, WHICH THE SOCIALIST PARTY WITHIN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SEEKS TO CONVERT INTO REGULATORY MANDATES, AS ANOTHER NEW FORM OF DISGUISED TRADE PROTECTIONISM THAT ENABLES GOVERNMENTS TO DISTINGUISH THEIR CHAMPIONED COMPANIES BASED ON NON-TECHNICAL, NON-PERFORMANCE-BASED PROCESS GROUNDS. CSR SCHEMES HAVE ALREADY RESULTED IN THE 'SOCIAL BLACKLISTING' OF COMPANIES, LET ALONE, IN LEGAL LIABILITY FOR COMPANIES, BOARD MEMBERS AND MANAGEMENT WITHIN THE U.S. THIS IS LIKELY TO OCCUR WHERE NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES THAT COMPANIES HAVE FAILED TO TRUTHFULLY REPORT THEIR ACTIVITIES AS SET FORTH IN NONFINANCIAL ANNUAL REPORTS PREPARED AND SUBMITTED TO NONFINANCIAL REPORTING MECHANISMS SUCH AS THE GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE AND THE UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT OFFICE. See, e.g.: ITSSD JOURNAL ON CSR (CORPORATE SOCIAL RESTRICTION) at: http://itssdjournalcsr.blogspot.com ; ITSSD JOURNAL ON INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS, at: http://itssdinternationalstandards.blogspot.com/2008/07/absurdity-multitude-of-european-fruit.html].

EU Has Long Held Developing World Hostage to Non-Scienced-Based Health & Environmental Standards Deemed Economically & Socially Harmful

http://www.itssd.org/Res%20Ipsa%20Loquitor/Res%20Ipsa%20Loquitor%20-%20Studies%20showing%20impact%20of%20overly%20stringent%20stds%20on%20developing%20countries.pdf


ITSSD Main Website Issues - Studies Evaluating Negative Impacts of Overly Stringent EU Standards on Developing Countries


I. Generally


II. World Bank and Other Studies Quantifying the Impacts of Technical Barriers to Trade


III. World Bank and Other Studies Examining EU Standards Relating to Aflatoxins, in Nuts, Dried Fruits and Cereals


IV. World Bank Study Evaluating EU Maximum Residue Level (MRL) Standards Relating to Tetracyline Use in Beef


V. World Bank Study Evaluating EU MRL Standards For Bananas


VI. World Bank Study Evaluating Impact of Trade on Air Pollution Standards in Developing Countries


VII. World Bank Study Evaluating How Environmental Standards Affect Developing Country Export Competition


VIII. World Bank Study Quantifying the Trade Impact of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Standards on Sub-Saharan Africa

Overly Strict EU Environmental and Health Regulations Have Long Served as Protectionist Trade Barriers That Harm Developing Country Advancement

http://www.itssd.org/Res%20Ipsa%20Loquitor/Res%20Ipsa%20Loquitor%20-%20Developing%20Countries%20Trade%20Barriers%20Sust%20Dev.pdf


ITSSD Main Website Issues - Developing Countries, EU Regulatory Trade Barriers and 'Negative' Sustainable Development


I. Generally


II. DDT , Malarian and UN POPs Treaty


III. UN Basel Convention and the Waste and Recyling Trade in Asia


IV. The Developing World Response to the EU's Proposed (now Final) REACH Chemicals Regulation


V. Africa's Response to Europe's GM Moratorium

Exporting Europe's Protectionism

http://www.itssd.org/Publications/Kogan%20TNI%2077FINAL.pdf


Exporting Europe's Protectionism


Lawrence A. Kogan


The National Interest Journal


Number 77, Fall 2004, pp. 91-99


Due to its different view concerning the role of 'science' in assessing and managing public risks, the EU has effectively challenged the U.S./WTO risk evaluation framework seeking to establish the precautionary principle, a 'better safe than sorry' rule, as an absolute international standard by which all products, no matter where they are produced, are determined to be safe or harmful.


This challenge threatens the competitiveness of U.S. and other non-EU industries because it seeks to transform the current predictable risk-based evaluation system premised on objective empirical (technical) science, exposure data and, to a large extent, economic cost benefit analysis, into a subjective framework in which pre-risk assessment screening based on cultural moral values and demographic risk aversion (consumer fear perceptions) and hazard profiling based on intrinsic substance characteristics prevails.


The EU has endeavored to change the current framework by embedding the precautionary principle into overly stringent health and safety and environment regulations and technical product standards (in excess of international standards), and then exporting those regulations and standards abroad down industry supply chains throughout the world via international treaties, international standardization bodies and bilateral technical capacity building intiatives.


Examples of this include EU biotech labeling and traceability regulations that implement EU obligations under the Biosafety Protocol to the U.N. Biodiversity Convention and the proposed EU REACH regulation, which is intended to serve as a template for global chemicals management.


In essence, the EU exports the high cost of precautionary regulation and standardization abroad in order to 'level the global economic playing field' (as a form of protectionism to compensate) for its lagging, less cost-efficient or otherwise technologically underdeveloped industries.


Lastly, the EU and its member states also fund non-governmental environmental groups, both in Europe and other countries, that are actively engaged in pursuing antiglobalization and anti-technology campaigns. These campaigns threaten government and company technological innovation and research and development programs.

Biofuels Protectionism Trumps Climate Concerns: Just How Green is Biofuel?

http://www.reuters.com/article/GlobalAgricultureandBiofuels08/idUSN1661111120080116?sp=true


Biofuels protectionism trumps climate concerns


By Inae Riveras


Reuters


January 16, 2008


SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Despite world concerns about global warming and the impact of biofuel production on food prices, policy makers have done little to boost international trade of cheaper and more environmentally friendly fuels for consumers, experts said.


Import tariffs and trade barriers have prevented, for example, an increase in cane-based ethanol exports from Brazil, the world's most competitive producer of the biofuel. Shipments are actually expected to be lower in 2008 than last year.


In Europe, biodiesel producers have been hit by an increase in U.S. imports, which benefit from subsidies if they are blended with mineral diesel. To counterattack, the EU bloc may impose countervailing duties, industry leaders said.


The EU has also been affected by large volumes of Argentine biodiesel at cheap prices, which are encouraged by preferential taxes. The product is charged a 5 percent tariff by Argentina's government, while edible oil exports have a 30 percent duty.


"Some countries are trying to solve a world problem, which is global warming and climate change, just with national solutions," said the head of Brazil's Sugar Cane Industry Union (Unica), Marcos Jank, at the Reuters Global Agriculture and Biofuel Summit.


According to Unica, cane-based fuel has higher productivity than other feedstocks. Sugar cane yields seven liters of ethanol per hectare compared with three liters with corn.


Production costs are lower, and energy efficiency -- amount of energy used in the process versus energy resulting -- is five times higher with cane than with corn, Unica said.


Moreover, its impact on food prices is much more limited than the one caused by corn or wheat. Almost a third of the next U.S. crop may be turned into fuel, increasing upward pressure on food inflation.


But tariffs in some of the world's largest fuels markets like the U.S. and Europe will limit ethanol exports. Shipments from Brazil are to drop this year to 3.4 billion liters, down from 3.8 billion liters in 2007, Datagro consultants said.


GLOOM PERSPECTIVES


Unica argues its position is not self-promotional as cane-based ethanol could come also from Asia, Africa or South America. More than 100 countries -- most of them poor nations -- have natural conditions to grow cane.


"Europe is trying to subsidize their farmers to produce ethanol from beet and wheat instead of buying ethanol from abroad. The same happens in the U.S. Most of the ethanol there will come from corn, probably from biomass in the future, but not imported (ethanol)," Jank said.


"We believe that if these countries consider to import more from developing countries, the energy and environmental balance would be much better, and costs would be much lower."


But signals from these countries point to the opposite direction.


The chairman of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Collin Peterson, said on Tuesday tax credits and tariffs on ethanol would have to be maintained to create the necessary conditions for the development of cellulosic ethanol.


"We are hoping that we won't have any changes in the tax or tariffs any time soon," he said.
Brazilian ethanol is charged with a 54-cent-a-gallon tariff to enter the U.S. market. This makes direct sales possible only on specific and uncommon occasions, depending on low prices in Brazil and high prices in the United States.


And perspectives remain negative as the U.S. passed in December its Energy Bill, which sets a target for biofuel use of 36 billion gallons -- none of them imported, in principle.


"They (U.S.) won't open their market. They will stick to its import tariff and create a quota, and then administrate this quota under geopolitical criteria," said the president of Brazil's Datagro consultants, Plinio Nastari.


Wallace Tyner, professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, said it would be necessary either alter the mandate or change the tariff for U.S. to meet its goal.


"Brazil and a lot of Central American countries have a capacity to expand pretty quickly their ethanol production if they get signals that there's a market for it," Tyner said.

India, Brazil Slam New Attempts by EU & US to Secure Green Trade Barriers at Doha

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L04357213.htm


India, Brazil slam new WTO Doha proposals


04 Dec 2007

Reuters


By Jonathan Lynn


India and Brazil criticised two new sets of proposals in the Doha round of trade talks at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Tuesday, signalling that wide gaps in the negotiations remain despite recent progress.


The two developing countries, who play a major role in the talks, said that a U.S.-EU proposal to free up trade in environmental goods was little more than a disguised attempt to boost sales of goods of rich nations.


They also said a negotiating text on "rules" -- anti-dumping, subsidies and fisheries subsidies -- was a step backwards that excessively accommodated U.S. concerns.


India also expressed alarm that the key agriculture talks were tilting too much towards the needs of rich countries and were ignoring the requirements of the sub-continent's millions of subsistence farmers.


India has been committed to the Doha talks, launched six years ago and now aiming for conclusion next year, said India's WTO ambassador Ujal Singh Bhatia.


"But if, God forbid, a time comes when that price of engagement is unpayable by us, then we will have to stand up and say that," he told Reuters.


NO BASIS FOR NEGOTIATION


The United States and the European Union launched a proposal in the long-running Doha talks last Friday to counter climate change by eliminating tariffs on 43 climate-friendly goods and setting up a wider agreement on environmental goods and services for developed and advanced developing countries.


"We don't think it's a basis for negotiation on environmental products," said Brazil's top trade negotiator, Roberto Azevedo. "Brazil is deeply disappointed with the proposal. We find the proposal modest, we find it biased and we find it protectionist," he told a briefing. Azevedo noted that the U.S.-EU proposal made no reference to biofuels, of which Brazil is a major producer, or the technologies to produce them, and said the list was geared to U.S.-EU products. "Anything that they don't produce is not on the list," he said.


Bhatia said India could support proposals to free up trade in goods whose sole use was countering climate change, such as solar panels or windmills, but the list could be extended over time to new models of cars or refrigerators that were more energy-efficient, and that was unacceptable.


"Their list is a disguised effort at getting market access through other means and does not satisfy the mandate for environment," he said.


Both Brazil and India expressed dismay at the rules proposal that met U.S. concerns by allowing a controversial method of calculating anti-dumping duties called zeroing. This would allow the abuse of trade remedies to foster protectionism, they said.


Washington had said it was disappointed at last Friday's proposals, but added they were a basis for negotiation.


Bhatia said the proposals on banning most fisheries subsidies, welcomed by environmental groups, would cause India difficulty as it tries to improve the living conditions of its fishermen, among the poorest people in the country.


The proposals do give some leeway to developing countries to support fishermen, but he said the conditions, such as setting up approved fisheries management schemes, were too onerous.


Senior Indian Commerce Department official Jayant Dasgupta said a disproportionate effort in the WTO's key agriculture talks was going into shielding the commercial interests of the relatively small number of farmers in rich countries.


At the same time poor countries were being squeezed on proposals to protect the livelihoods of subsistence farmers making up the majority of the population -- 65 percent in India's case.


India needed to shield such people, often living on less than $1 a day, from market fluctuations, and encourage them to stay on the land to ensure food security for the country.

Many in China Get It: See EU Environmental Regulations For What They Really Are - Disguised Trade Barriers

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2007-08/15/content_6027388.htm


Green barrier disguises face of protectionism

By Huang Qing


(China Daily) August 15, 2007


The European Union's Framework Directive on Eco-design Requirements for Energy Using Products (EuP), or the third-generation "green barrier", was implemented on Saturday.


The EuP standard puts stricter environmental requirements on energy-using products' life cycle assessment and, therefore, exercises restrictive influence on those products' design, manufacture, use, maintenance and retrieval.


Compared to the EU's two earlier green barrier directives, the EuP directive imposes stricter requirements, has a wider scope and will have a greater impact on the business of relevant firms.


Green barriers are an economic phenomenon, which emerged this century as environmental-protection awareness grows ever stronger across the globe. Europe is an area where environmental protection consciousness runs highest and, consequently, related undertakings take on an aura of sacredness.


It is against this ideological background that the EU has promulgated its green barrier directives. Thanks to the fact that environmental problems pose a serious threat to mankind and that sustainable development and green consumption represent the trend of the times, the barriers do have some virtue.


But behind the morality facade, I fear some protectionist considerations are at work.


Dictated by globalization necessities, the world's industrial structure is undergoing a major realignment and some manufacturing operations are moving to the developing world, of which China is a part.


However, the rapid expansion of manufacturing industries in these countries rouses worries from developed countries. In this context, the developed nations put in place green and technological barriers one after the other, in a bid to hold an advantageous position over the competition.


By setting up green technological standards, developed countries automatically push up the cost of developing nations' exports by large margins and, in turn, weaken their competitive power.


Besides enjoying technological advantages, developed countries maintain an edge over developing nations in testing technologies. So the latter, apart from bearing larger production costs, have to pay large amounts of "soft costs" in the forms of testing and certification fees.


In addition, the green barriers serve to make the deteriorating environment in developing countries all the worse.


Developing countries generally implement lower environmental standards than developed ones. And transnational corporate giants, all of which are headquartered in developed countries, shift energy-consuming and high-polluting operations into developing nations through making investments, or simply dump non-green products into these nations.


The green barriers, therefore, make developing countries shoulder double baggage - the worsening environment caused by dumped goods and by engaging in energy-consuming and high polluting production operations.


The green barriers, which are actually a new type of trade barrier, have gained acceptance from the World Trade Organization. They can steer clear of many trade rules and render the competitors speechless. And the latter stand little chance of winning any case on trade disputes arising from the implementation of the green barriers.


[THIS ASSESSMENT IS NOT TRUE - THERE IS AMPLE LEGAL PRECEDENT AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS TO PREVAIL IN A WTO DISPUTE IF BROUGHT]***


Generally, there are no unified international standards to follow in working out green requirements. Developed countries that enjoy the right to formulate them, are thus automatically placed in an advantageous position. In many cases, what they say goes.


In view of all this, the green barriers are a kind of one-way green tax levied on the developing world.


[IT IS ALSO A ONE-WAY GREEN TAX LEVIED ON DEVELOPED COUNTRY CITIZENS]**


Developing countries are caught in a green dilemma. On the one hand, going green represents the trend of the times and ecological civilization and sustainable development are the common aspirations of all mankind. On the other, they are at a green disadvantage, having insufficient capital and backward technologies. Worse still, they also have disadvantages in social awareness, education and social organization.


Confronted by the green barriers, what can companies in developing countries do?


In business it is all about the survival of the fittest, so these firms must adapt to the changing situations and respond to the challenges. This means they must raise the environmental standards of their products.


In the face of the green barriers, the developing world should have more say in green affairs.


For example, it should push developed countries to shoulder the historical responsibilities for global warming and make better use of the compensation mechanisms for carbon-discharge reduction.


Also, they should appeal more strongly for lowering the threshold of environmental-protection technology transfer and put stricter controls on the shift of energy-consuming and high polluting operations.


[BY FIGHTING EUROPE'S IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NON-SCIENCE & NON-ECONOMICS-BASED PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE AT THE WTO, CHINA, INDIA, ETC. CAN ENSURE THAT THERE EXIST OBJECTIVE REGULATORY BENCHMARKS TO GUIDE POLICY MANAGEMENT OF PROVABLE ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS]**


The world's environmental problem today is to a fairly large extent a product of the past. Developed countries, in the course of their industrialization, wrought damage to the global environment. This is a historical debt they should pay. Moreover, their way of life today should also be held responsible for the worsening environment.


[THIS IS NOT TRUE - CHINA, INDIA AND OTHER INDUSTRIALIZING DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ARE PLAYING A ROLE IN EXACERBATING EXISTING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS]**


It is unfair to make the developing world shoulder all the historical responsibilities or pay the historical debt. Developed countries should take more responsibility for global environmental protection.


The author is a council member of the China Foundation of International Studies