E.U. may restrict free imports from poor nations

By Batuk Gathani

BRUSSELS, DEC. 11. The European Commission could soon amend its policy to abolish trade restrictions on almost all imports from the world's poorest countries. This move is being undertaken to contain criticism from European agricultural lobbies. As a result, the European Commission proposes to withdraw benefits to the world's poorest countries if their exports of ``sensitive'' items exceeded specific levels.

The opposition to free imports from poor countries comes from the European sugar industry, which claims that generous liberalisation could lead to cheap imports. The European sugar industry enjoys special privileges with substantial import restrictions and subsidies which keep the European sugar prices at three times the world prices. The industry has influential contacts among European bureaucrats and politicians to maintain the status quo.

The proposed changes by the European Commission could amount to imposing import quotas on poor countries and this would obviously deny them access to the prosperous market of 370 millions. The proposals would obviously affect the developing countries. Some of the 77 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries with which the E.U. has negotiated preferential trade agreements, feel that they risk a loss of exports. The agreements were mainly negotiated with former colonies of leading E.U. powers - Britain, France and Holland. The European Commission proposes to extend the time- frame of eliminating trade restrictions from three to five years.

European officials argue that without the proposed amendments, the scheme to encourage imports from the poorest countries could be blocked by individual E.U. Governments.

Because of bad governance, endemic corruption and lack of economic planning, many of the poor countries have not been able to increase their share of the global trade.

The rhetoric of free trade in Europe and North America has aroused wider expectations, but this grossly ignores the ground realities of the subtle protectionist instincts, which dominate policy-making in industrialised countries. There is much talk about a ``fairer deal'' for the world's poor but there is also reluctance to take radical actions to lower trade barriers against developing countries.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Clinton to visit Ireland today
Next     : Delay in Florida hardens N. Korean position