No Indoctrination 4: Francophone Countries Gain

WTO alliances and groups in Hong Kong
http://www.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/international/diversite-culturelle/eng/#nouvelle9 [Very interesting breakdown]

In general, to better protect their interests in negotiations, WTO members build relatively homogeneous alliances that enable them to defend their common positions. [....] The growing sway that emerging countries like Brazil, India, or China have in international trade is reflected in WTO negotiations. The U.S., the E.U., Canada, and Japan used to have the upper hand, and opposition was often simply North-South. [....]

The G10 .... net agricultural importers that impose very high customs duties on certain products they consider vital to their agricultural industries

The Cairns Group .... large agricultural exporters, both developed and developing, who are adamantly opposed to E.U. and U.S. subsidies

The G20 .... under the leadership of Brazil and India. They share opposition to the agricultural policies of rich countries ....

The G33 .... This group brings together LDCs defending the concept of “special products” important to their agricultural industries that they want to be able to continue to safeguard with the highest level of protection.

The ACP Group .... This group brings together former colonies that want to preserve their preferential access to the European market, thereby opposing some of the G20's positions.

The G90: A more informal body, bringing together the ACPs, along with the countries of the African Union and LDCs.

[. . . . ]

There is so much more of interest, as one reads down this webpage.



Francophone Countries Gain

UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and the services trade negotiations in Hong Kong http://www.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/international/diversite-culturelle/eng/#nouvelle13

[....] a videoconference training session on the Doha Round (http://www.espace-economique-francophone.com/them_negoc_omc_OIF.htm#a1).

Workshops on priority negotiation issues gave francophone country delegation representatives stationed in Geneva an opportunity to interact with senior experts. On October 24, Mr. Pierre Sauvé, an associate researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science and expert on international trade and negotiations on services trade, discussed the theme “trade in services” with participants in an online francophone forum on Doha Round trade negotiations.

[....] francophone countries gained considerably from the recent adoption of this Convention

* [....] Might service negotiations undermine the universal obligations of governments with regard to public services, as well as their ability to regulate, and do they compromise cultural diversity? Mr. Sauvé stressed that the right of states to regulate their service activities is crucial .... This includes public service and universality obligations. Public services—education, healthcare, postal services—are excluded from GATS jurisdiction when they are provided on a non-commercial basis and do not compete directly with private providers of equivalent services. [....]

Note: "education, healthcare, postal services—are excluded from GATS jurisdiction when they are provided on a non-commercial basis." This agreement may be about protecting and solidifying language requirements for future endeavours, as well.

There is the issue of whether cultural services (e.g. teaching and training, including via the Internet -- think crossborder services provided electronically, e-commerce in audiovisual services, VOIP, maybe) can be prevented from being part of WTO service negotiations.

Healthcare: Would the SCOC ruling about an individual's right to timely health care not have an impact in this? As soon as health care is opened to commerce, then it becomes negotiable under GATS jurisdiction, I would think.

I believe that Canadian postal services have been expanded far beyond what used to be the mandate. There are the benefits of being of government, yet competing against private business, unfairly. (Doesn't all mail to and from the East have to pass through Montreal? Just as Air Canada's head office must be in Montreal.) Education? If audio-visual services, multimedia productions, e-learning are part of universities or government, then they would be outside the GATS negotiations, I would think.

I heard yesterday that at least two university Political Science instructors ( profs?) had told their students to vote Liberal. That is how insidious government involvement is in education at all levels and, had the Liberal government been returned to power, there would have been indoctrination from daycare upward. (IMHO) They would learn correct think.

* Can the issue of cultural services (teaching and training, including via the Internet) be broached in WTO service negotiations? .... including crossborder services provided electronically .... e-commerce in audiovisual services [....]

Mr. Sauvé made recommendations to negotiators from developing francophone countries regarding negotiations at the Hong Kong ministerial conference: “Prudence, firmness, and a comprehensive vision—these are the keywords I believe should guide developing countries in the upcoming ministerial meeting in Hong Kong. Prudence, because service markets cannot be liberalized without significantly strengthening regulatory capacity and the ability to take advantage of new market access opportunities that may arise on completion of the Doha Round. [. . . . ]

[.... Participants] would do well to envision a gradual opening of key sectors that are tied to infrastructures [sic] (telecommunications, finance, transport, professional services), have a considerable impact on their trade in goods and agricultural products, and can have a decisive influence on their growth and long term competitiveness.”

The need for countries to refrain from making any free trade commitments involving culture in the negotiations within the framework of the GATS [....]

Search: "The International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (which represents 31 coalitions for cultural diversity in as many countries)—like the European Union, the International Organization of the Francophonie, and other linguistic regions (Portuguese-, Spanish-, and Arab-speaking)—" , "goods, services, investment, competition rules, and intellectual property"



Developing Countries Urged to Open Financial Markets through WTO
http://financialservices.house.gov/media/pdf/111505cb.pdf

There are several links at the bottom of the above. Another example, demonstrating the importance of this protocol to all the stakeholders so anxious for this UNESCO protocol to succeed. There is more here than meets the eye.

One link which will follow will reveal how the Islamic world is/was planning on circumventing the WTO most favoured nations trading agreements which were intended to be fair to all parties.