Rich countries should not have waited until the Cancun Summit to meet promises made to poor countries, World Bank President James Wolfensohn says in an interview with Avvenire (Italy, 09/16).

The finance ministers of rich countries should have found a way to implement the agreements reached at the Doha, Monterrey and Johannesburg summits. They could have already given a good example by reducing domestic tariffs, subsidies and protectionism, which all hamper the competitiveness of poor countries on global markets.

Wolfensohn went on to say that the breakdown of the WTO round could be perceived as a threat to multilateralism, but hoped that this would not reveal itself to be the case. Still, the WTO is at risk of becoming a general political forum. The agreement on drugs and public health reached during the last WTO Summit was a positive sign. It was also good to see that rich countries had committed to imposing limitations on duties and tariffs on exports from developing countries.

Wolfensohn notes that WTO member states lacked the political will to reach a compromise which would have helped millions of people to escape endemic poverty. A good agreement to reduce customs duties could have generated an additional income of more than $520 billions, which in turn could have helped free millions of people from poverty by 2015. Rich countries gathered in Cancun should have given an answer to the issues of poor countries. Western farmers receiving more than $350 billion a year are the crystal clear example of unbalances and unfairness towards poor countries which only receive $50 billion in annual development.

Meanwhile, Mari Pangestu, co-coordinator of the Task Force on Poverty and Development for the United Nations Millennium Project and a member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, writes in the Jakarta Post (Indonesia) that trade policy and openness is a means to sustained growth and development. Empirical evidence and lessons from other countries basically indicate that what matters is not openness itself, but the way in which the process of opening up is implemented.

This relates to complementary policies such as investing in crucial infrastructure and ensuring policies are aimed at broad based development. Addressing inequities is better done through specific policies, such as social safety nets, rather than through trade policy. Thus it is not enough to provide temporary protection through the trade policy to increase industry competitiveness and higher productivity-if all other policies such as those related to investment in infrastructure, labor and wage, and fiscal policies, do not support the target of the increase in productivity.

In related news, Agencia Lusa (Portugal) notes that in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, annual OCDE aid to Africa should increase from $52 to $67 billion, Vitor Constancio, governor of Banco de Portugal, said during the 13th meeting of central bankers from the African Countries of Official Portuguese Language (PALOP).

The Straits Time (Singapore) meanwhile notes that China’s entry into the WTO in 2001 may mean more economic opportunities for the country, but it would also lead to greater inequalities between men and women, a study has shown. The study, commissioned by the UNDP and the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchange, also shows that women will be increasingly marginalized in the industrial sector and shut out of capital-intensive and high-tech industries. They will be concentrated mainly in labor-intensive work and in the informal sector, the report said.

The FT reports that Pascal Lamy, the EU’s trade commissioner, on Tuesday warned that the collapse in Cancun of WTO talks at the weekend could lead the EU to re-examine its commitment to multilateral trade negotiations. Though the EU is expected to retain its broad commitment to seeking trade agreements primarily through the Geneva-based organization, the latest setback could lead Brussels to explore other options. Lamy also expanded on his calls for a sweeping overhaul of the way in which the 146-strong WTO operates, and promised that the EU would come up with a set of reform proposals. His comments made clear that he is primarily concerned with the body’s consensus-driven approach.

Meanwhile, certain negotiators do not hesitate to pin the blame for the failure of the WTO negotiations in Cancun on the US, reports Le Monde (France). „Who has to gain from the failure? Not poor countries, that leave empty handed. Not the EU who has already made concessions on the CAP, but the US‘ monstrous farm bill remains untouched“ said one negotiator.