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WTO rules favour the rich, marginalise LDCs

Commerce minister tells DRU workshop

STAR BUSINESS REPORT
Commerce Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury yesterday lashed out at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), saying the least developed countries (LDCs) were marginalised mainly due to biased WTO rules tilted towards rich nations.
The rules of the organisation are very uneven, resulting in the slow progress in winding up the negotiations on dispute-prone multilateral trading rules, he said.
"The WTO is rich men's club created by developed countries for their economic interest," Khosru said at an inaugural secession of a workshop on the WTO issues in Dhaka.
Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in association with the Centre for Sustainable Development (CFSD) organised the two-day workshop on, Run up to Cancun: WTO & its impact on LDCs.
Held at the DRU auditorium, a total of 15 economic reporters representing various Dhaka-based
dailies and news agencies participated in the workshop.
Debapriya Bhattachariya, an eminent economist and executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), and Mahfuz Ullah of the CFSD conducted the workshop, which is the first of its kind, organised by the DRU on financial matters.
Venting frustration, the commerce minister said the LDCs have nothing to achieve from the WTO as its activities are dictated by rich countries, defying the legitimate interest of the poor.
A few developed countries including US have been showing persistent unwillingness in awarding duty-free access to goods originating from LDCs to their markets breaching pledges made in the Doha Declaration in 2001, he pointed out.
"The Article number 42 of the Doha Declaration included agreed term of all developed countries to award duty and quota free export facilities to all LDCs to their markets," an aggrieved commerce
minister said. "Developed countries including US should show respect upon the Doha Declaration by providing special and deferential treatment to these LDCs."
On the implementation status of the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the commerce minister said the TRIPS agreement of the WTO has so far remained unimplemented due to lack of willingness of a few influential developed countries.
Expressing concerns of LDCs, the minister demanded special and different regulations for the poor countries under WTO trade rules.
"The needs of the LDCs should be addressed separately," Khosru asserted.
Commerce Minister, however, put accent on enhancing trade related capacity building and negotiating efficiency to reap benefit from the WTO. "Both the public and public sectors have to be serious with the matters under the auspicious of the WTO."