WTO crying off from convening ministerial-level meeting in Dec

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From Fazle Rashid
NEW YORK, Dec 13: The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is crying off from convening a ministerial level meeting in December aimed at thrashing out an outline in the troubled global trade talks which has been running for past seven years with no end in sight. It was described as a renewed blow to pledges made by the world leaders to combat protectionism.
The planned meeting would be running an unacceptably high risk of failure which could damage not only the Doha round but also the WTO, Pascal Lamy, the director general of the organisation was quoted as saying. The idea of reaching a framework deal in the Doha round of trade negotiations before the end of tenure of President Bush has now been set to rest.
The new White House incumbent will not be rushed into a dialogue with his hands full of more important issues to be addressed. The G20 leaders who had gathered for a summit meeting in Washington had promised to draw an outline for the global trade. They had also pledged not to take any protectionism action for the next 12 months. Five of the G20 nations -- namely Russia, India, Brazil, Indonesia and Argentina are contemplating raising import tariffs or restrict trade.
Brazil has been persistently blaming the US for the failure of the negotiation. 'I think probably the most appropriate word to apply to that would be greed,' Celso Amorim, Brazil's foreign minister was quoted as saying.
The US is demanding that the big emerging nations throw open their industrial
sectors to competition. The EU nations have distanced themselves from the American stand. US farm and trade lobbyists are against withdrawal of subsidy to make farm products from the emerging nations more competitive.
Russia will raise import tariffs on cars, India has enhanced duties on iron, steel and Indonesia has alarmed 'trading partners with measures to benefit local manufacturers'. The US said it could not be blamed for the stalemate in the Doha round of talks.
Meanwhile, US has been hit by two financial scandals of monumental proportion. Rod Blagojevich (pronounced bluh Goy-uh vich), Governor of Illinois, has brazenly put for sale for appointing a successor to President-elect Obama for his Senate seat. The governors are vested with authority to appoint a man to a vacant Senate seats.
The governor has been arrested on charges of conspiracy and soliciting bribes. The governor denied any wrongdoing. " I want to make money" by selling the senate seat to the highest bidder. I can drive a hard bargain. If I don't get what I want and I am not satisfied with it then I will just take the Senate seat myself, the New York Times quoted the Illinois governor as saying. Rev Jesse Jackson, a Black American had made his desire known to the governor to replace Obama in the Senate. But he denied making offer of any payment for that.
In another multi-billion dollar financial scam said to be the biggest Wall Street fraud Bernard Madoff a former chairman of Nasdaq stock market was arrested for making over $50 billion in fraudulent deals. He was released on a bond of $10 million. He denied any wrong doing.
The regulators have not yet verified the scale of the fraud. But criminal complaint filed against Madoff has stated that he fraudulently made $50 billion over the past few years. Madoff made money by luring the investors with low investments and high returns. Madoff has been running this business since 1960.
A receiver has been appointed by the court on request from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Madoff's company has been taken over and its overseas accounts have been frozen. He has been asked not to move any assets. The case threatens to stoke fears among investors and encourage withdrawals from hedge funds struggling to raise cash to meet redemptions.
Meanwhile, the election manifesto unveiled by Sheikh Hasina has given rise to more curiosity rather instilling hope for the future, the Bangladeshi diasporas here in North America feel. They said the authors of the manifesto are totally ignorant of the reality existing outside the border of Bangladesh. The authors did not say how much would be required to implement the promises and more importantly where the money would come from.
The AL leaders must bear in mind that all multilateral agencies like the WB, IMF, ADB and the UN have warned of gloomy days ahead. The World Bank has made a 4.0 per cent GDP growth projection for the world in 2009 and a severe food shortage is looming large, FAO has said.