Dec 14, 2005 - Blog for Guardian Unlimited:
Talks appear to be blocked, work carries on regardless
The strangest thing about these sorts of meetings is that everyone agrees nothing seems to be happening but we are all extremely busy. It is also odd that thousands of people have travelled across the world to take part in a conference run by an organisation they don't think should exist. The amount of doubletalk is unbelievable: even Peter Mandelson is complaining that negotiators say one thing in public and another in private.
A major criticism of the WTO is that it is not democratic.
This is difficult in an organisation of 149 countries but it is something
I spent this morning playing a part in trying to remedy. I was negotiating
the resolution of the Inter-Parliamentary Conference on behalf of the European
Parliament with my Socialist colleague Erika Mann. This meeting has brought
together 300 MPs from over 70 countries to tell our negotiators what we
want. These concerns, as well as ones raised during meetings with other
delegations, are brought up in our daily meetings with Peter Mandelson and
his cabinet. You may think that some views are being ignored by our negotiators
but they do at least know which views they are ignoring.
At lunchtime there was a discussion on the benefits of
multilateral trade over bilateral. This is the problem with trade, unlike
so many things it is more interesting than it sounds. The WTO is multilateral - any trade deal agreed is agreed for everyone who takes part. The common alternative to this is bilateral - meaning trade between 2 partners. The problem for the protestors outside the Convention Centre here, many of whom have valid grievances, is that the alternative to the multilateral system they want to destroy is even worse. At least at the moment there are rules-based systems which prevent countries being unfairly treated or left out. If the WTO falls apart these guarantees (which actually work but get no press because they aren't very interesting) would go, with harmful effects on vulnerable, poor economies and our own.
The differences which WTO negotiators are trying to overcome
are horribly complex. Politicians, NGOs, the media and the public all have
roles to play in getting them moving again. Ultimately things change when
there is political will for them to do so, but no one should be under any
illusions that destroying the Doha Round is the solution to all these problems.
That is why everyone is running around, seemingly doing so little: we are
all trying to support (or destroy depending on your viewpoint) progress
but it is increasingly difficult to see where it is going to come from.
