RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES KYOTO RATIFICATION

On 27 October, the Russian Federation Council, the parliament's upper house, voted for the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. This vote followed a similar move by the parliament's lower house, the State Duma, on 22 October. To complete the process, Russian President Putin -- who supports the treaty -- must sign off on the bill (see BRIDGES Weekly, 6 October 2004). Following this, the Kyoto Protocol will become effective in 90 days. Russian Hydrometeorology Committee's chief Alexander Bedritsky noted that measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Russia will be carried out mainly through energy efficiency strategies. The Federation Council also sent a proposal to the Prime Minister on the creation of a working group on emissions trading, as Russia will likely be a major seller of carbon credits. The Kyoto Protocol obliges developed countries to reduce carbon emissions by five percent as compared to 1990-levels. They can also buy and sell carbon credits, and a new market is already developing. "Russian ratification means a new market and a new economy has been given the green light," commented Jeff Fiedler of the US-based Natural Resources Defense Council. He regretted that the US businesses will remain outside this market due to a US pull-out from the Kyoto Protocol in 2001.

"Russia's upper house backs Kyoto," BBC, 27 October 2004; "Russia ratifies Kyoto protocol," ITAR-TASS, 27 October 2004; "Russian Parliament's Kyoto Ratification Underlines Bush Isolation," ONEWORLDUS, 25 October 2004.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE AGREEMENT OFFICIALLY POSTPONED TO MARCH

Trade negotiators from the EU and South America's four-nation Mercosur trade bloc failed yet again to create what would be the world's largest free-trade area at their meeting in Lisbon, Portugal during the week of 18 October. The EU has been trying for more than five years to strike a deal with Mercosur countries Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, but both groups have been reluctant to make key concessions, especially on agricultural trade barriers and market access for industrial goods. As EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said, "It's no secret we're not satisfied with each other's offers". The Lisbon meeting was somewhat of a last attempt to reach an agreement before the current European Commission is replaced at the end of the month, a transfer of power that may further delay an agreement. Mercosur demands for greater access to Europe's beef, poultry and services markets have continued to be stumbling blocks for the negotiations (see BRIDGES Weekly, 6 October 2004) as have the EU's desire for expanded access for industrial goods, services and investment, as well as expanded opportunities for European firms to compete for public procurement contracts in Mercosur countries. Negotiators on both sides hope that the economic and political potential of an accord will spur them to reach an agreement. For Mercosur, reaching an agreement with the EU would bolster its bargaining position with the US in the negotiations for a Free Trade Area of the Americas. The EU believes that an agreement would boost trade and increase economic growth. Government ministers from the two blocs will continue negotiations next March.

"EU, Mercosur Make No Progress On Free Trade Deal," ASSOCIATED PRESS, 21 October 2004; "EU-Mercosur Trade Talks Postponed Until March - Official, " DOW JONES, 21 October 2004; "EU, Mercosur neared free-trade deal last week in Lisbon: Lamy," AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE and EUBUSINESS, 25 October 2004.

US PRESSURES DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TO DROP HFCS TAX

The US government recently threatened to suspend the entry into force of the free trade agreement (FTA) it signed last August with the Dominican Republic, in an effort to pressure the Caribbean island nation into reconsidering a recently-approved import duty on high fructose corn sweeteners (HFCS). HFCS replaced sugar as the primary sweetener in soft drinks in the US a long time ago, and the US views the HFCS tax as a protectionist measure that favours Dominican sugar producers at the expense of US corn producers. The Bush administration had intended to submit the Dominican Republic FTA for congressional approval together with the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), a US FTA with five Central American countries. In an October 1 letter to Congress, US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Zoellick said, however, that he would "not recommend including the Dominican Republic in the legislation to implement the agreement if the [HFCS] tax remains in place". Charles Rangel (D-NY), a member of the US congressional committee that deals with trade, offered a different opinion, criticising the Bush administration for threatening not to implement the Dominican Republic FTA and describing the threats as "inappropriate and unfortunate" and not reflective of "a balanced, respectful and fair-minded approach to this vital bilateral relationship". Rangel, who represents a district with a large percentage of Dominican-Americans, instead suggested that the administration take its complaints to the WTO.

The Dominican Republic's congress ignored warnings from US trade officials and passed the HFCS tax last month as part of a broad tax package meant to close a US$500 million budget gap. President Leonel Fernandez, whose political opponents control the legislature, opposed the tax but signed the reform legislation in order to restart negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for an urgently-needed US$600 million loan package. Fernandez has since sent an amendment to the congress, calling for the elimination of the 25 percent HFCS tax, arguing that this is necessary to meet the commitments the Dominican Republic took as part of the FTA with the US. The Dominican Republic has only three main exports, one of them being sugar. Corn in the US is subsidised; the Dominican Republic cannot afford to subsidise its sugar producers.

"US Lawmaker Assails Bush Threat on Dominican Pact," REUTERS, 21 October 2004; "USTR Increasing Pressure On Dominican Republic To Drop HFCS Tax," USTR, 22 October 2004; "U.S.-Dominican Free-Trade Plan Suspended," ASSOCIATED PRESS, 27 September 2004.

CAMPAIGN TO STOP EPA NEGOTIATIONS LAUNCHED AT EUROPEAN SOCIAL FORUM

UK-based Christian fair trade company Traidcraft, along with partners from the UK, other European countries and Africa, launched the "Stop EPA Campaign" on 15 October at the European Social Forum (ESF) in London, in the hopes of stopping the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) being negotiated between the EU and 77 of the world's poorest countries. The Stop EPA Campaign originated from a meeting last April in Brussels, where representatives from European and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) country economic justice organisations met to discuss their shared concerns over the EPAs resulting from the Cotonou Agreement, signed in 2000 between the EU and the ACP countries. One hundred and twenty organisations now support the campaign, including ActionAid, Christian Aid, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), Action for Southern Africa and Oxfam International. These NGOs worry that the EU's propositions would hurt small and vulnerable producers, thus hindering any progress in fair trade.

The NGOs behind the initiative have signed on to a statement, which argues that the EPAs essentially are trade agreements promoting European trade and investment interests in ACP countries. The signatories demand that EU-ACP trade cooperation should: be based on a principle of non-reciprocity (with ACP countries having access to trade preference and special and differential treatment; protect ACP producers' domestic and regional markets; reverse the pressure for trade and investment liberalisation; allow for policy space; and support ACP countries in their pursuit of their own development strategies. The Stop EPA Campaign hopes to raise political awareness and secure a fair trade deal for the countries involved. Time is pressing, as the negotiations are scheduled to conclude by December 2007, and the EPAs are slated to be implemented between 2008 and 2020.

Further information is available

"Stop EPA Campaign," TRAIDCRAFT, October 2004; "Stop EU-ACP Free Trade Agreements," STOPEPA.ORG, October 2004; "European Social Forum: Public Urged To Act On Trade Agreements," INTER PRESS ERVICE NEWS AGENCY, 20 October 2004.

EUROPEAN CHICKEN EXPORTS HURT FARMERS, FRENCH NGOS SAY

On 5 October, members of a French NGO launched a campaign to highlight the harmful effects that European exports of chicken have on food security and family farms in Africa. The campaign is centred on a report called "Chicken exports - Europe rips the feathers off Africa," and includes Catholic anti-famine initiative Agir Ici and the French Committee for International Solidarity. According to the report, European corporations sell in Africa those chicken parts they cannot sell back home, and undercut the prices of healthier chicken raised in family farms in Africa. For example, in the marketplaces of Dakar in Senegal or the Cameroon towns of Yaounde and Duuala, poultry from local smallholdings sells at between EUR1.80 and EUR2.40 a kilogram, and so cannot compete against frozen European imports selling at only EUR0.50 per kilogram. Khadi Diouf, producer of Senegalese chickens, said, "Before, the merchants came to us and bought our produce. Today, we not only have to go ourselves to the market, but they do not buy anymore. Where are the buyers? If there are no buyers, my day risks being wasted, and the lunch of my children also".

Alain Melot, chair of France's poultry trade association, suggested that Africans were free to impose import duties if they wished to, but Agir Ici said that such duties, essential to protecting a key food security industry, would be WTO incompatible. The campaign thus calls on the European Trade Commissioner to defend the right of all countries to protect their agricultural markets and "strategic products," supporting current negotiations on special products and the special safeguard mechanism in the Committee on Agriculture. As well, the campaign calls on those African, Caribbean and Pacific countries negotiating Economic Partnership Agreements to not force open agricultural markets (see BRIDGES Weekly, this issue). In providing a human face to the agriculture debates, the campaign hopes to mobilise European consumers for development goals.

For further information on the campaign, see Internet.

"French NGOs Push to Save African Chicken Farmers From Europe," THE NEWS (PAKISTAN), 18 October 2004; "Exportations de Poulets: L'Europe Plume L'Afrique!" AGIR ICI, 5 October 2004.

GLOBAL WARMING THREATENS DEVELOPMENT GOALS

A recent report by a coalition of environment and aid agencies, entitled "Up In Smoke," warns that climate change may sabotage attempts to lift the world's poorest out of poverty and make the Millennium Development Goals unattainable. The report draws on UN predictions of the effects of climate change in poor countries over the next 50 years, which indicate that poor countries will experience more flooding, declining food production, more disease and the deterioration or extinction of entire ecosystems. According to the coalition -- comprised of 17 members, including ActionAid, Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Oxfam and WWF -- the link between climate change and the widespread prevalence of poverty can no longer be ignored. Andrew Simms, co-author of the report and director of the New Economics Foundation in the UK, comments that, "to rescue the situation we need a global framework to stop climate change that is based on equality, and we have to ensure that plans for human development are made both climate-proof and climate-friendly". The report calls on the international community to introduce a global risk assessment of the likely costs of adaptation to climate change in poor countries. Policies should decrease, as opposed to increase, vulnerability to the effects of climate change. The report also calls for cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases by industrialised countries. Beyond policy formulation, the report emphasises the value of education, research and agricultural assistance in poor countries.

To access the report visit Inernet.

"Aid Agencies' Warning On Climate," BBC NEWS, 20 October 2004; "Coalition Warns About Human Cost Of Climate Change," CHANNEL NEWS ASIA INTERNAITONAL, 20 October 2004; "Global Warming A Bigger Threat To Poor," GUARDIAN, 20 October 2004.