Guardian Unltd: World's poor take on the West in Cancun

[Jack Rabbit]

From the Guardian Unlimited (UK)
Dated Wednesday September 10

Developing countries square up to west at start of world economy negotiations
WTO talks offer little hope of bridging gap between rich and poor
By John Vidal, Larry Elliott, Charlotte Denny in Cancun

Crucial global trade talks open in the luxury holiday resort of Cancun today with 146 countries squaring up for a bruising five days of negotiations amid little expectation that much headway will be made to bridge yawning gaps between rich and poor.
With security at almost paranoid levels - a third Mexican warship anchored off the Caribbean beachfront yesterday - the two big power blocks, the EU and the US, were playing their negotiating cards close to their chest.
But there was a new militancy among developing countries, led by China, Brazil and India, which are determined not to be bulldozed in the horse-trading which starts later today.
Whereas previous trade rounds have been stitched up by the EU, US and Japan, poor countries have roundly rejected a last minute deal on agriculture from Washington and Brussels as inadequate.
Instead a coalition of developing countries representing 60% of the world's farmers have tabled their own far more ambitious proposal which would substantially cut western farm subsidies - currently worth six times more than all global aid spending.

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[Maple]

1. Absolutely

those subsidies gotta go!