Dr. Syed Kazim Raza Zaidi
Associate Professor
Shia PG College Lucknow
THE RESEARCH AND INFORMATION SYSTEM for the Non-aligned Movement and other Developing Countries was set up by India in 1983 immediately after the non-aligned Summit with basic objective of providing to it and other developing countries some sort of intellectual or analytical base for preparing their own stand, their own understanding and their own strategy on various international economic issues. Since then we have been working with a network of institutions in different countries to recreate public opinion both at the national and international levels. We have deliberately given this brief background of this institution because we feel that is one area that needs to be taken up as a priority area. The preparedness of the developing countries on various international issues make them conscious of their interests.
Already the emphasis has been laid rightly on the focus of NAM and the whole non-aligned initiative will have to shift now from political and strategic aspects tothe economic considerations.(1) If we look at the economic dimensions of the world economic space today, it is found that the cold war in terms of the economic power groups has not really ended but it has become much more intense.(2)At least in the so called cold war era. The world can not tolerate uni-pluralism on political and strategic issues, but if you come to the economic dimensions, it is found that the world is terribly multipolar and power groups are subtle. If we take the name of multinationals or taking thenames of various international organizations. They are playing the role of perpetuating the unequal distribution of the benefits of trade or capital movement. Today we talk about the flow of investment, flow of technology in aggregate, but who benefits from it? What kind of indications it gives’ how are the poor or have not benefiting from this? If we look at the sharing of benefits from various international issues, we do find that the inequity and the whole power hegemony situation is constituting in the economic area. So we should really put at the top of the future that NAM should consider the power groups, subtle power groups that are emerging in the economic area.
With the formation of GATT and UNCTAD it has been seen that world economy moved from individualistic form of economy in which regional trade was opened at global level i.e., the world economy was taking a space. For this, regional trade barriers were pleaded to be abolished. New economic aspects were included in the agenda of GATT in the last Uruguay Round. Its structure will be headed by a Ministerial Conference, meeting at least once every two years. A General Council has been established to oversee the operation ofthe Agreement and ministerial decisions on a regular basis. This council will itselfact as a Dispute Settlement Body and a Trade Policy Review Mechanism, which will concern, themselves with the full range of trade issues covered by the WTO, this will also establish subsidiary bodies such as a Good Council, a Service Council and a TRIPS Council. The WTO framework was made to ensure a “single undertaking approach” to the result of the UruguayRound – thus, membership in the WTO has entail accepting all the results of the Round without exception. Though the WTO was adopted to lessen related tensions prevailing at regional level an account of that is needed before seeing the relevancy of WTO.
Growing Tensions in International Trade
U.S. Japan Relations – Recent years have witnessed growing trade tension, U.S. Japan’s trade surplus has been a subject of intense discussion and criticism because over halfof it, nearly $ 40 billion is with the U.S. alone.(3)
Japan-EC Relations – The Ec has reacted unlikely to Japan’s pledges to buy more automobiles and parts from U.S.companies. The main concern in Japan EC companies. The main concern in Japanese Car exports to the EC. Japan has “greed to limit car exports to the EC with the aid of voluntary exports restrains (VERS). Interestingly, in response to EC restrictions, the Japanese Companies set up what are called “screwdriver plants” inside the EC but sales from these plants are restricted by EC local content rules.(4)
U.S.-EC Trade tensions stem from trade in agriculture, and to a lesser extent from aircraft subsidies and restrictions on financial services in America. Just to lesser these prevalent tensions various regional forums were adopted the important one are as under-
Regional Economic Groupings:
The North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) The NAFTA Acord signed in August 1992. It is Trade Organization of the North American countries. The main issue of NAFTA is economic collaboration.
Asia – Pacific Economic Co-operation:
APEC forum was setup by Australia, Brunci, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zeland, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and the U.S. in 1989 to strengthen trade and economic links in the pacific region. China, Taiwan and Hong-Kong joined APEC in 1991.
Though the WTO is professed to incorporate the necessities of all the states developing, developed and the under-developed countries. But it is not so. Earlier the trade negotiations were taking place at regional levels (among few neighboring countries). Here in before there has been the description of such important regional economic forums like NAFTA, APEC etc. and these were getting economic straightly uniting locally. But when this movement got global expansion the developed countries could play their foul ideas to dominate in WTO agenda. This can be seen in the following paras:
Intellectual Property-
The Uruguay Round agreement will also oblige India to provide intellectual property protection to new plant varieties and will make micro- organism patentable in two areas which have justifiably aroused a great dealof passion. However, the rights of farmers and breeders to use and re-use patented seed material is not threatened, since governments too have the power to build in adequate safeguards.(5) In my opinion it is a false statement and violation of there of WTO is apparent.
Stronger multilateral trade rules and better dispute settlement:-
One of the gains to countries like India from a stronger multilateral trade action by the U.S. and other giants of World Trade will be curbed. While Super 301 will remain in the U.S. statute books, it can not be used in areas which come under the Uruguay Round. Any dispute under the Uruguay Round agreements will have to go through the multilateral dispute settlement procedure. But it has been used,(6) by America.
The Indian constitutional position in this regard is fairly clear. The conclusion of international treaties is an executive privilege. Parliament has the right of scrutiny, but has no power of veto or sanction. If these were all that the standing committee had said, then the Government would have been on a safe wicket in authorizing the Indian negotiators at GATT to appeared their signatures to the deal. But as soon as word had gone out that the Government had given its assent, Parliament broke out in a storm of outrage. In the ensuing babble, the one phrase that came through with some clarity was that the Government had “sold the country out”.(8)
From the above paragraphs it is obvious that the developed countries repressed the voice of developing countries.
We know that the step to step ties a gradual process will ease the global text formation with much more equity and balance in economic and other ields. Since NAM is the largest representative of the third world countries, it can become the best platform for negotiating the problems of third world countries. It has really evaluated certain aspects of WTO.
The other one is the deteriorating terms of trade and, therefore, unequal distribution of the benefits. Then we have unequal sharing of the burdens of adjustment in the world economy. The developed countries are allowed to go scot-free even by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. They are not adopting or sharing their responsibility on global structural adjustments. So the developing countries have to have the increasing share of the burden. The next is the new form of protectionism in the name of the health and environment standards. The whole scenario is going to be extremely asymmetrical and unequal. Then there is a very dangerous phenomenon of national economies of the nation states losing their policy of autonomy. So in NAM it has to assert its principles it has to bring in greater independence of nation’s economies.
I would not agree with the view that NAM has been failure in the Economic field can cite a number of instances one percent of the GNP or GSPscheme, or the whole resolution on the New International Economic order, they all had their origin in the deliberations at NAM, Therefore we can say that N?M has been playing an important role is increasing awareness about the emerging issues and asking for changes in the global economic governance of management.
In my opinion the time has not gone out of hand. The review provision of WTO in 1999 would give an opportunity where the NAM states would plead the demands of 3rd world countries. The evaluated aspects (i.e. intellectual property, multilateral trade etc.) which have a representation in the coming time would get a detailed discussion. Then only the themes on which WTO was sought to bring its true existence will get real representation. And the WTO will represent the true essence of it in reality.
Then we can say that the NAM has greater role to play in the coming days.
References
1. Times of India New Delhi Feb. 24, 1982. V.R. Panchmukhi, NAME and Issues under WTO. World Focus July 1997.
2. Ibid.
3. Syed Aziz Anwar-Regionalism in Trade: Evidence and Implications for the GATT. Foreign Trade Review P.
4. Ibid.
5. Thomas Abraham – “Scrambling for markets” GATT’s Comprehensive Controversial document, Frontline, Jan, 14 1994, P. 36.
6. Ibid.
7. Sukumar, Murlidharan, “Little to Cheer” India in the New order Frontline 14, 1994.
8. Ibid.
