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 This
session with its distinguished panelists, Mr Jeremy Hobbs from Oxfam
International, Mr. Thomas Aquino from the Government of Philippines and Mr.
Peter Eigen from Transparency International, brought a fairly broad set of
issues to the discussions. They also generated sufficient interest and a high
degree of audience participation/interaction. The interventions including those
from the audience largely recognized the considerable development opportunities,
that can potentially be realized from Doha, particularly in my view, from
further market access through trade liberalization and rule making.
 There
were several perspectives offered, not least from the panellists themselves,
with Mr. Hobbs, citing the findings
of their recent Oxfam study on the role of trade and globalization in the fight
against poverty www.maketradefair.com.
In examining the trade and poverty reduction linkages, trade was viewed as an
important though not always a sufficient factor in addressing poverty. Access to
assets, and in some instances the case for direct interventions (while noting
the possible efficiency aspects of such actions) were highlighted. For
development opportunities to be realized and for trade to lead to rapid growth,
development, and poverty reduction the importance of addressing and setting the
trade rules and practices to the benefit of developing and poor nations was
advocated.
 Trade
and poverty reduction linkages were also discussed from the perspective of a
developing country, such as Philippines, by Mr. Aquino, and in his presentation he set out some of the possible
elements to maximize the development opportunities and outcomes from Doha for
his country. Taking account of domestic constituents and political processes,
assessing net gains and losses, facilitating export growth in developing
countries with improved market access in key employment intensive sectors such
as agriculture, and the issue of special and differential treatment were raised
in this context. In addition to trade (export) expansion highlighted by the
discussant, the benefits of import
liberalization for all countries, including developing nations, was emphasized
by many participants in the discussions that followed. The role and importance
of technical assistance and capacity building for developing and least-developed
countries to raise understanding and facilitate the implementation of the WTO
Agreements was stressed. The increased need for technical assistance and the
role of other multilateral, regional and bilateral sources of assistance were
also discussed.
 The
role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in controlling corruption and
building an "anti-corruption" strategy more explicitly in the work of
the WTO was raised by Mr Eigen in his
presentation. Addressing bribery, and with it its detrimental economic, social
and political effects were emphasized as an element in the discussions. Tackling
the global problem (not restricted to the North or South) could, further enhance
the development opportunities and outcome. Views were also expressed on the role
of the WTO, and whether it addressed the issue of corruption implicitly, if not
explicitly, by streamlining administrative procedures and trade instruments,
reducing the scope for discrimination and rent-seeking and by its work on issues
such as trade-facilitation and transparency in government procurement.
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May
6, 2002
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