Protesters Vow To Derail WTO Meetings

[Dover]

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-mexico-wto,0,1514684.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

Protesters Vow to Derail WTO Meetings

Associated Press Writer
September 9, 2003, 8:43 AM EDT

CANCUN, Mexico -- Activists marched in the streets and stripped on the beaches in an attempt to derail a meeting of the World Trade Organization, at which representatives of 146 countries will try to increase global commerce without throwing millions out of work.

At a beach resort best known for turquoise surf and drunken U.S. college students, trade ministers huddled in conference rooms of five-star hotels in preparation for the meeting, which begins Wednesday.

..snip..

Several competing proposals are being pushed, including one from the United States and the European Union that would create limited cuts in farm subsidies and another from a group of developing nations led by India and Brazil that would move toward eliminating the subsidies and opening the markets of rich countries to their farm products.
"We need, without any question, to make some progress on agriculture, because this is an issue of great importance to virtually all our members, and it is an issue on which progress in other areas hangs," WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell said.

Ministers also will consider whether to open their economies to more foreign investment -- which some say will drive local producers out of business -- and how to cut tariffs on industrial goods without shuttering factories and spurring unemployment.

..snip..

"We are not here to throw sticks or stones," said Rafael Alegria, international secretary of the farm group Via Campesina. "We are here to send a clear and ringing message: Take agriculture out of the WTO talks." .>> MORE

...................

Farm Reform Lies at Heart of World Trade Battle

GENEVA (Reuters) - Trade ministers meeting for a likely bruising clash of views at next week's summit in Mexico certainly agree on one thing -- without progress on farm reform, the current round of world free trade talks is going nowhere.

Promises from rich states, particularly the European Union, that fresh negotiations on lowering barriers to business across the global economy would help pry open their farm markets were a key reason poor states and agriculture-exporting countries agreed to the Doha Round of talks.

When ministers from the World Trade Organization's (WTO) then 144 states launched that round in the Qatari capital in late 2001, world farm negotiations had been stuck in the mud for two years.

The new round, covering everything from industrial tariffs to international trading rules and markets for services, as well as agriculture, was touted by the EU as offering the chance for trade-offs that could let the 15-nation bloc be more generous on the politically sensitive farm front...MORE

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=MU2EEMIDS3C1ACRBAEOCFEY?type=ourWorldNews&storyID=3404241

[cherryperry]

1. Dennis Kucinich:

"My first act as president will be to withdraw from NAFTA and the WTO."

:bounce: :wow:

:kick:

:hi:

[Brucey]

2. Hoping

I hope they keep it up.. we really need to educate the public about what globalization means (it's not the same as internationalism; it's corporate control of everything, even our survival needs).

[Forkboy]

3. Excellent

[arcane1]

4. sweet! I so wanted to go to this...

but I was at least able to donate some money for their trip this time

:bounce:

[G_j]

5. have friends there

we threw a benefit to help them get there.
all the best to them in their efforts.

[dArKeR]

6. Notice how these meeting are far away so not too many protesters can

get there.

Far away from a real protesting population.