In Brief

SHRIMPS UNDER ATTACK

On 31 December 2003, the American Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) filed an antidumping complaint with the US Department of Commerce, arguing that producers in Thailand, China, Vietnam, India, Brazil and Ecuador are selling shrimps on the US market below production costs. According to the SSA, the complaint is aimed at restoring trade, which currently is unfair to American producers and has resulted in unemployment as well as health and safety concerns. Senator Lott, who supports the complaint, called on the US government to "take bold steps to ensure that free trade is fair trade". Currently 80 percent of the total shrimp consumption in the US consists of imported shrimps. In reaction to the lawsuit, the six shrimp exporting countries have issued a joint statement stating that "no legal action will change the fact that farm-raised shrimp from exporting countries is more cost effective than US wild-harvested shrimp", arguing that shrimp production in the US simply is not competitive due to high production costs. The exporting countries furthermore noted that the increase in shrimp imports had benefited the US economy by supporting the domestic processing sector. In protest of the lawsuit, Thailand's private sector said that it would stop buying US produced soybeans and soybean meal. The Commerce Department is set to decide on 17 February whether they want to hear the case or not; should the department agree to hear the case, the shrimp exporters face immediate tariff surcharges of 57 percent.

"Thai Shrimp Spat Could Grow," THE ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL, 16 January 2004; "Shrimp Exporters Join Up For Fight," VIETNAM NEWS, 13 January 2004; "Retaliatory Measures Against US supported," BANGKOK POST, 14 January 2004; "Indian Shrimp Exporters To Fight US Move," REDIFF, 17 January 2004.

EU'S CAP BLAMED FOR DECLINE IN BIRD-DIVERSITY

The UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Birdlife International have urged EU accession countries to put environment and wildlife at the heart of farming policy. A recently released report by the two organisations shows that the population of farmland birds has declined rapidly in European countries and in particular in areas of intensive agricultural production systems. The indicators of the report show that common farmland bird species have declined by 30 percent since 1980. The report also states that many of the bird species, which have already been lost in north-west Europe, are still found in the eastern European states scheduled to join the EU in May. Graham Wyne, Chief Executive of RSPB, noted that "for more than three decades the wildlife of the European Union has been ravaged by agricultural production subsidies encouraging intensive farming ahead of sustainability and the environment", warning the new EU countries of massive declines or even extinctions of wildlife relying on farmed landscapes. Furthermore, commenting on the relationship between the Common Agricultural Policy and the decline of bird species he said "in fact, this has been so marked you can pick out the outline of the Common Agricultural Policy imprinted on the distribution map of the bird".

"EU Urges Rapid Action to Save Endangered Species," ENS, 19 January 2004; "Dire Warning for Europe's Farmland Birds," RSPB, 19 January 2004; "Farming "killing Europe's Birds"," BBC, 19 January 2004.

WTO: US SURPRISE INITIATIVE TO RE-START TRADE TALKS

On 11 January US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick sent a letter to the trade ministers of WTO Members, aimed at re-energising talks. In particular, he outlined the US stance on agriculture, industrial goods, services, special and differential treatment (S&D) for developing countries and the Singapore issues of investment, competition, transparency in government procurement and trade facilitation. Zoellick, inter alia, suggested to start negotiations with market access in agriculture and said that a date should be set for the elimination of export subsidies, thereby putting much of the burden to restart negotiations on the EC. Furthermore, he supported substantial openings of markets in both developed and developing countries with competitive agriculture sectors, implying that major agriculture exporting developing countries could only be granted limited S&D. Nevertheless, he recognised the need to address the issue of cotton as a part of the agriculture negotiations, both from a trade and from a development perspective.

EC Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy welcomed Zoellick's letter as a "good move" and said that "it looks as though the two big trade blocs -- the EU and the US -- are beginning to think along the same lines". He said the EC was ready to show flexibility in a number of areas, including the Singapore issues and geographical indications, and was ready to engage seriously on agriculture. Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler also commented on the letter, highlighting specific preconditions for reducing agricultural export subsidies. He also highlighted an EC proposal to phase out all export subsidies on sensitive products for developing countries.

Developing country trade officials generally welcomed Zoellick's letter as a clear sign of renewed US commitment to the multilateral talks, but asked for more time to further study its strategic implications before they could come up with a more detailed assessment.

Mini-ministerial at Davos

Two dozen trade ministers will meet on 23 January in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss the 2004 WTO work programme, and ways out of the current deadlock. WTO Members are furthermore, expected to reactivate the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) and its negotiating bodies after a new set of chairs have been selected. The first meeting of the General Council is scheduled for 11-12 February.

For a more detailed account see BRIDGES Weekly, 14 January 2004.

ICTSD reporting; "U.S. Outlines Ideas to Revive Doha Round; Trading Partners Give Cautious Welcome," WTO REPORTER, 13 January 2004; "Mini WTO ministerial planned on sidelines of Davos economic forum," AFP, 13 January 2004; "US moves to restart stalled trade talks," FINACIAL TIMES, 12 January 2004; "Brussels prepares to negotiate with US," FINANCIAL TIMES, 12 January 2004.

ASIAN EXPERTS TARGET KEY REGIONAL TRADE & ENVIRONMENT PRIORITIES

At a 14-15 January consultation in Sri Lanka, 20 regional experts in trade and environment met to articulate the central issues of concern to South and Southeast Asia on environment in the WTO. They looked not only at the major regional priorities in the ongoing Doha round negotiations, but also envisioned elements of a proactive trade-environment agenda for developing countries in the WTO for the future. At the Sri Lanka consultation -- which included a diverse range of academics, non-governmental organisations, and representatives from regional capitals and Geneva-based trade missions -- participants identified five regional priority areas relating to trade and environment at the WTO, including agriculture; environmental measures; intellectual property rights; risk and precaution; and environmental goods and services. Specifically, participants highlighted the fact that the impacts of northern agricultural subsidies on commodity prices and on local environments in developing countries were poorly understood, as was the impact of developing countries' own agricultural subsidies.

The informal deliberations in Sri Lanka, organised by ICTSD, IISD and IUCN, formed part of the 'Southern Agenda' project, which aims to assist developing countries in bringing forward their own environmental concerns as these relate to the multilateral trading system. The Southern Agenda is a partnership between ICTSD, IISD and a group of regional NGOs (the RING). The Sri Lanka meeting was the third in a series of six such meetings held across Asia, Africa and Latin America. The regional meetings are supplemented with ongoing Geneva-based consultations with developing country trade negotiators.

For a more detailed account of the meeting see: BRIDGES Weekly, 21 January 2004.

HALTING BIODIVERSITY LOSS BY 2010

During a meeting of European states in Madrid on 21 January, EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom said that although EU leaders had agreed on halting the loss of biodiversity at all levels by 2010, much more needed to be done in relation to habitat loss, land use and climate change if this target was to be reached. Environment ministers from Europe, Russia and central Asian countries agreed in Madrid on a proposal to be presented to the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-7), to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, next month. They agreed on, inter alia, developing a network of protected areas both on land as well as on the sea, which currently fall outside of national jurisdictions. The proposal, however, was criticised by environmental groups as not ambitious enough and for lacking financial commitments to implement the plans. Achim Steiner from IUCN - The World Conservation Union reminded delegates of the global impact of decisions taken within Europe, as well as he introduced IUCN's Countdown 2010 Initiative aimed at promoting action on issues crucial to the success of achieving the 2010 targets.

"Countdown 2010 Initiative takes shape across Europe," IUCN, 20 January, 2004; "Europe Agrees on Proposals to Save Species," ENS, 22 January 2004.

LAKE BALKHASH FACING SAME FATE AS ARAL SEA?

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently raised concerns that the second biggest lake in Central Asia -- lake Balkhash -- might face the same fate as the Aral Sea and dry out due to unsustainable water management practices. The Balkhash Sea -- forty times the size of Lake Geneva and located in Kazakhstan -- is fed with water from several rivers the main one being the Ili river, which flows through China. Recent industrial and agricultural developments as well as population growth have led to an increased use of the Ili river water. The UNDP team manager highlighted the urgent need for Kazakhstan to come to an agreement with China with regards to how much water China could use from the Ili. Achieving such an agreement could prove to be politically sensitive although necessary to save the lake, according to UNDP. "If there is no agreement with China on the amount of water it can use from the Ili, Balkhash will be damaged in the same way the Aral was," said UNDP's environment team chief in Almaty. He furthermore added that another issue to be dealt with the use of the water by the Kazakh's themselves who do not pay market rates for it as well as agricultural system consumes too much water in relation to its production.

"Kazakhs May Face Another Aral Sea Disaster, UN Says," REUTERS, 16 January 2004.