केरला सेमिनार - मुक्त व्यापार समझोते

KERALA SEMINAR ON FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS
Though less known - still more dangerous than WTO

ERNAKULAM SEMINAR ON FTAs of Southern States
A seminar on Free Trade Agreements was held on 14-15 August in Ernakulum, Kerala, a state which has been most affected by recently concluded FTA with ASEAN countries. In brief, in a hundred-plus- participants’ seminar, there were 9 session, dissecting different aspects of FTAs. VK Prashada, Secretary AIBOC, speaking on the FTA and Indian financial service sector was quick to claim that FTAs were not going to benefit anybody in India, except multinational companies and big corporate houses. If at all any consultation is done, it is with FICCI, ASSOCHAM like big business confederations, whereas farmers and general public is not taken into confidence at all - the most affected parties, he added. He further criticized the policy of neglecting the priority sectors like agriculture, SMEs, weaker sections and exports at the time of loan giving, but, on the contrary, are given to big business houses, citing fake agricultural reasons. In brief, the financial sector is totally devoid of vision for the underdeveloped sections of society, and is serving the big players, he concludes.
Speaking at the inaugural session, Prof. Kumaraswami, All India co-convenor of SJM, explained in detail the vicious designs of FTAs and that WTO, which was wrongly propagated as the mantra for free trade, is dying slowly owning to its own contradictions and exploitative nature. So developed countries are trying to push FTAs, which is bilateral trade and investment treaties with other countries and regional blocks. He further stressed that FTAs with ASEAN and SAFTA is causing havoc to the domestic auto-components, industry plantation, crops sector, edible oils, textiles and SMEs in a wide variety of sectors. Sh. Sundram, CA and convener southern states, warned that India is going to conclude two of the biggest FTAs this year, one with the European Union and other with Japan, and that these FTAs will create legally binding obligations on the government such that livelihood related to agriculture, fisheries and manufacturing stand to be severely affected. Besides affecting investment and our ability to access affordable healthcare, medicines, education and municipal services such as water and sanitation, he stressed that farmers right to save seeds and citizens’ ability to prevent theft of our traditional knowledge is also under attack through FTAs.
Dr. Srinivasan spoke very metaphorically that three things expected through these FTAs are employment, technology and investment from developed countries and the claims are nothing but a mirage. In bullet sentences he pointed out that in the name of technology they are providing us chutney-pickles and talcum powders, and that“we asked for computer chips and they provided us potato chips”. Regarding employment, he ridiculed – “fifty years ago American mummies were advising their kids to spare something in their plates otherwise poor Indians will suffer without food. Fifty years after American Mothers are advising their off-springs to study Maths and Physics well otherwise Indians will take away yours jobs and you will suffer without food.” Regarding investments, he added, these so-called develop countries are left with banks which are mostly bankrupt – what will they give others? So that expecting these three things is a illusion.
Dr. Priyesh, CA, presented a well-researched document on the topic ‘ FTAs and Agriculture’, explaining that after Uruguay Round Agreement of WTO, a process was initiated for deregulation of trade in tropical commodities specially among the producing countries, whereas under FTAs tropical commodities would become more vulnerable to price fluctuations, besides pushing down the share of producers in the value chain. Our farmers will not be able to stand in competition before the lavish subsidies the US and EU countries are providing to their farmers, he added.
Sh. Gopa Kumar, an expert from Third World Network,. had numerous reports and studies with him to explain his topic “Intellectual Property Rights: Impact to Affordable Health Care” and FTAs - a Threat to Indian Industry. Adv. Sajinarayan, BMS functionary and a Trade Union Represntative to ILO, with PPP explained the topic FTAs and Jobless growth.
Two other topics were covered in this seminar, one by Prof. Kumaraswami on FDI in retail and the other by Prof. Kanaksabhapati on Entry of Foreign Educational Institution in India and its impacts. Prof Kumaraswami discussed at large the intentions behind issuing a Discussion Paper on FDI in Retail by Ministry of Commerce. Whereas Prof Kanaksabhapati alarmed that a sudden move by various world-level universities to entre India has something sinister behind it. After the recent global financial meltdown, these so-called global brands in education too became bankrupt as 70% of their corpus funds were invested in share markets and other financial juggleries. So these have an eye on countries like India. In a country like ours where indigenous world-level institutions are thriving like IITs and IIM, where is the need for foreign universities, he asked. Director, Urban Institute of Management, Coimbatore, Prof. Sabhapati lamented that out of of total budget 6% is earmarked for higher education and only 50% is utilized only by the government! So India should utilize these means to improve the educational standards that to rely on foreign universities from countries where moral degradation in students had plummeted to the lowest.
In the concluding session, Kashmirilal summarized the matter saying that in total 8 FTAs have been concluded by this time and 29 others under various stages or say in the pipeline. We should know that world-wide a negligible number of 20 FTAs were concluded by the year 1990 or so, and increased exponentially to over 300 by 2005 and are close to 400 today. According to a World Bank report, if we exclude RTAs involving countries that have close to zero most favoured nation (MFN) tariffs, the share of world-trade in RTAs falls from 33% to 20%. Lastly, that most countries, especially African countries, are members of Regional Trade Agreements or multiple agreements. Though FTAs or RTAs are more harmful, more undemocratic, less transparent and more inhuman than WTO provisions, yet there is little discussion in the society about this. Hence the need for such seminars, he explained. Moreover FTAs with developed countries undermine the right of “special and differential treatment” explicitly recognized under the WTO framework. Secondly, preferences obtained through FTAs from developed countries tend to lose their value relatively quickly, as new FTAs are concluded with other developing countries, including those that compete in the same product range. Thirdly, many FTAs with developed countries contain provisions related to investment, intellectual property, competition policy, government procurement, and services, and require legislative and policy changes in developing countries.
The feedback of participants was also taken in written and discussion form and utmost satisfaction was visible from their side in it. Sh. Biju thanked and urged the participants for further discussion on this topic at their various places and need of the state level conventions on this topic.