Nepal called on world trade leaders to embrace a fair, just and inclusive trading regime to bring a structural change in the economies of small and poor nations around the world.

Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Buddhi Man Tamang (File Photo)
Addressing the sixth ministerial conference of WTO on Saturday, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Buddhi Man Tamang said, “Nepal looks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) as not only a vehicle for promoting global trade but also as an institution that ensures fair, just and inclusive trading regime where the concerns and aspirations of all the countries-small and big, rich and poor-are well heard.”

Tamang, who is leading the Nepalese delegation to the WTO meet, stressed that a fair trading system would help the big nations bring about a structural change in their economies to promote trade and stimulate growth, that would, in turn, help reduce poverty.

Minister Tamang addressed the conference for the first time in the capacity of a full member. Nepal obtained WTO membership in 2003.

Minister Tamang said that low level of economic development, structural bottlenecks and grinding poverty had seriously constrained the trading and development capabilities of the Least Developed Countries (LCDs) adding, “as collectively expressed by the LDCs during their Ministerial meeting in Livingstone, what we are looking for from the international community is not merely the recognition of the fact of our marginalisation, but a meaningful, substantial and substantive market access opportunities for our products.”

He said that the LDCs should be provided with a binding commitment to the duty-free and quota-free market access for all products with simple and flexible rules of origin.

The Doha declaration had promised to provide duty free access of goods of LDCs to developed countries, but developed countries are providing it only as per their wish.

Stating that for a country like Nepal the transaction cost is even higher with its natural handicap as a land locked country, Minister Tamang said, “We call for a precise, special and differential treatment to LDCs, which would help to create a level playing field for us to compete at the global market.”

“It is not understandable to us that there are restrictions and lack of access in the areas where there is a comparative advantage of the countries like ours, even when we have opened many of our services sectors,” Minister Tamang added.

“In order to help promote supply side capabilities, we want a strong mechanism and substantially enhanced resources for the Integrated Framework for its effective implementation,” he noted.

The negotiators have failed to forge a consensus on the major issues such as agriculture, duty-free and quota-free market access to the LDCs, services and Non-Agriculture Market Access, among others.

The US and developing states wanted a 2010 end date, but the EU objected until it saw movement in other areas.

But the draft text asks rich states to scrap export subsidies for cotton by 2006, to help West African producers.

Anti-globalisation protesters led by South Korean farmers tried to reach the security perimeter around the conference centre, but were pushed back by police with pepper spray on Saturday.