Civil society cautions government trade agreements

Sharon and Ernest, housemates of BBA 7, with Roger Mugisha of KFM look on as Tonix performs.. Photo by Faiswal Kasirye. 

 

By ISMAIL MUSA LADU
 

 

A trade inclined civil society organization has cautioned the government against signing multilateral (WTO) trade agreements, saying they (trade agreements) could be a tool the developed countries use to further their economic agenda at the expense of developing countries like Uganda.

According to the SEATINI Country director, Jane Nalunga one such agreement that the government shouldn’t sign is the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), whose implications, she said have the potential to hinder least developing countries from the right to access essential medicines at a cheaper cost.

Trade analysts say one of the obligations under TRIPS is that member countries must enforce Intellectual Property (IP) protection in their national legislations.

This means that in a country where IP protection is enforced, there will only be one supplier or producer as others without trading rights (IP)-irrespective of other available options will be prohibited from accessing the same market.

It is understood that there are behind- the- scene maneuvers to have TRIPS as part of the Doha round negotiations, a move the civil society organisations object to, saying this should be negotiated differently and not in the forth-coming conference in Bali, Indonesia where attempts to have member countries sign the Doha agreement will be intensified.

“We (civil society organization) want the government to reject attempts to have TRIPS used as a bargaining chip in the ninth WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Bali, Indonesia, later in the year,” Ms Nalunga said recently.

The Ministerial Conference which is the top most decision-making body of the WTO will in December this year meet in Bali with a view to have member states commit to the Doha negotiations that have been dragging on for years.

Just like the TRIPS agreement, the civil society organizations and trade analysts also want the government not to append its signature on the Doha trade negotiations to be held in Bali in December.

They warn that the Doha agreement contains several contentious provisions that Uganda will not be able to fulfill.

One of the contentious areas include the negotiations aspect on Trade facilitation, which proponents say is aimed at clarifying and improving provisions related to fees and formalities connected with importation, Freedom of Transit, and administration of trade regulations with a view to expedite the movement and clearance of goods including the ones in transit.

Although according to the Private Sector Foundation (PSFU) Policy Analyst, Moses Ogwal, this is a good move that will facilitate trade, Amb Nathan Irumba, a specialist on trade and development matters argued that Uganda does not have both the technical and financial capacity to fulfill all the requirements involved in those agreements.

Crucially, Amb. Irumba further argued that by signing the agreement, the country would have not just enslaved itself over something it has no capacity to implement but it would have also given its legislative powers-especially on matters customs and trade controls.

Other contested provisions are around trade and Investment, trade and Competition policy and transparency in government procurement—all requirements that works in favour of developed countries as opposed to developing countries who are still grappling with capacity issues.

“The devil is in the details,” said Ms Nalunga, “So we want our government to be careful because most of these agreements are sugar coated to excite LDCs into endorsing them, but the truth is that over 60 per cent of the trade agreements are in favour of the developed countries,” said Ms Nalunga.

Assistant Commissioner, in charge of economic affairs at the EAC ministry, Abubakar Moki said LDCs not end up getting raw deal in most of these agreements because they do not have much to offer, however he urged civil society to keep the fire burning because they help shape the government positions and actions.

Quick facts

The Ninth Ministerial Conference will be held in Bali, Indonesia, from 3 to 6 December 2013.

The Doha Round is the latest round of trade negotiations among the WTO membership.

They aim to achieve major reform of the international trading system through the introduction of lower trade barriers and revised trade rules.

The Round was officially launched at the WTO’s Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001.

The Doha Ministerial Declaration provided the mandate for the negotiations, including on agriculture, services and an intellectual property topic, which began earlier.

In Doha, ministers also approved a decision on how to address the problems developing countries face in implementing the current WTO agreements.