Kenyan Minister warns against bilateral trade deals

The Kenyan Trade Minister, Mukhisha Kituyi, today spoke up against the danger of countries running to negotiate bilateral and regional trade deals with the impasse of the Doha negotiations at the World Trade Organisation.

"If we face hard decisions in the WTO, we should not run from there by going after bilateral deals," he said in a presentation at the Mid-Term Review session at UNCTAD.

At the same panel, Brazilian Ambassador Clodoaldo Hugueney reiterated the need for resumption of the Doha negotiations but added that "you can’t have a successful Round without dealing with development." He said that agriculture and development are at the centre of the Round, for the first time.

Kituyi, who also currently chairs the African Union Ministers of Trade, said that there is a rise of bilateralism as the Doha Round talks slowed down. Through bilateral and regional agreements, the developed countries were having the same aims as they had in other fora.

"Though the words change, the targets remain the same," he said. Referring to the latest European Commission paper on trade policy, he commented that the EU refused to be on the defensive and was going to go for "more market access."

The Kenyan Minister has on previous occasions spoken up on the imbalances and risks posed to developing countries in the Economic Partnership Agreements that the European Commission is negotiating with the ACP Group of countries. However, he did not mention the EPAs in his speech.

He added that many issues of concern to developing countries, such as the need to tackle agricultural domestic subsidies in developed countries and the use of special and differential treatment for developing countries, could only be dealt with in the multilateral system.