| Will the latest blow dealt by the European Union be a wake-up call for African negotiators at WTO in Geneva or in Brussels , where the Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union are being discussed? The question may be legitimately asked. Indeed, while rich countries pretend to liberalise trade (to further tighten the pressure on poor nations), Europe not only continues to subsidize exports, directly or indirectly, but at present even exports its problems by subsidizing sales of European chicken abroad. Imports of frozen chicken was one of the main griefs raised by African countries at the WTO conference in Hong Kong last month. Developing countries repeatedly voiced criticism of farm subsidies and other trade policies, that favour the industrialised world to the detriment of the poor. Thousands of farmers and antiglobalisation activists from Africa and Europe gathered in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon , on January 17 to request a stop to the imports of frozen chicken, which farmers and consumers deem harmful to the health and livelihood of the Cameroonian people. Roughly 6000 protesters had come together outside the offices of the ACDIC (Association for the protection of collective interests), as the public authorities had issued a last minute ban on all demonstrations in the city centre. Demonstrators carried banners which read « FROZEN CHICKEN – A DISASTER FOR CAMEROON’S FARMERS » and « IMPORT WHAT WE PRODUCE HERE – A CRIME AGAINST CAMEROON’S ECONOMY ». It is at this very moment that Europe decides to raise its subsidies of chicken exports by 8.6% ! What caused Europe to take such a step ? Simply the fact that with the outbreak of avian influenza, sales of chicken have dropped sharply in Europe. Therefore, the EU takes the view that its « partners » should now buy the chicken which its own citizens refuse to eat ! This is what « partnership » with the EU really means. Europe is thus sending us a strong signal ! It is in this light that the Economic Partnership Agreements should be seen. And it is in the light of this last move by the EU that African negotiators should return to WTO talks in Geneva . Rich countries are not prepared to give up their vested interests without a fight ! Poor countries should not be negotiating on the basis of proposals advanced by their wealthy counterparts, but on the basis of the real needs of their own population. If West African nations are to reconquer a tiny slice of their sovereignty, they should start by insisting that their right to food sovereignty be recognized by the international community and hence by the WTO. If the WTO refuses to go along with that request, African countries have no interest whatsoever in signing any agreement in Geneva . Moreover they should demand that agriculture (and thereby also trade in agricultural commodities) be withdrawn from the WTO agenda and transferred to a different international body, more likely to show respect for the rights of the populations concerned. The African countries are not without leverage, they have the capacity to exert pressure. It is rather the political will that seems to be lacking. In fact, the same arguments that brought about a WTO ruling against the United States on cotton, could well be advanced to challenge the European agricultural policy. We shall return to this topic in a subsequent bulletin. Maurice Oudet
Koudougou, January 26 2006 | 
View from the South