THE EDITOR, Sir:
I AM a Jamaican LL.M. student at Warwick University in the U.K. writing a dissertation on the compatibility of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy with the purposes and legal regime of the World Trade Organisation. Delroy Chuck's article of August 20, 'Survival of small economies', raises many interesting points, several of which correlate with arguments that I will raise in my dissertation.
More specifically, I am looking at the recent Fischler 'reform' of the CAP, which in essence is an exercise in 'decoupling' the old direct link between subsidy payments and production. My research has shown that despite EU ministers heralding these reforms as a great step forward for free trade and stating that lesser developed countries should be very pleased, nations like Jamaica should be extremely worried.
The reforms are merely changing the mechanism and conduit by which EU farmers receive the exact same artificial state support, meaning that world market supply and prices will not change to benefit LDCs in the way that the EU claims. The true purpose of these reforms is for the EU to be able to arrive at the WTO talks in Cancun in September demanding 'reciprocal' concessions from LDCs and others. However, the EU made no substantive concessions in the first place, and is blatantly trying to get something for nothing. The U.S. played a similar game last year with its Farm Bill, and no one seemed to notice.
In fact, the U.S. and EU seem content to waggle their fingers at each other and say that "I won't liberalise agriculture until you do." As Mr. Chuck's article shows, the agricultural industry in Jamaica and in many other LDCs cannot afford to wait for this U.S./EU battle to be settled behind the bike sheds. Furthermore, a more cynical point of view might well be that the U.S. and EU are not battling at all and actually know precisely what they are doing. I believe they intend to overtly scream blue murder at each other over agriculture and trade liberalisation and demand trade concessions from the LDCs, whilst covertly colluding to keep their home farming lobbies happy.
I think it is vital that someone brings these issues before the public and ensures that we do not go blindly to Cancun to negotiate with the wolves. The livelihood of Jamaican and other LDC farmers, as well as our national food security demand that our trade representatives know exactly what is going on behind the scenes and have the strength of purpose to stand up for Jamaica.
I am, etc.,
JOSEPH KHOURI
University of Warwick,
England
Via Go-Jamaica
