The EU market share of ACP products has fallen, the only rises appear in imports of new products such as exotic fruits and tropical fis to Britain, France and Belgium. The EU, USA and Japan use WTO with the ultimate aim of rules most beneficial for themselves, he continues. If the use of tariffs is beneficial to them, they use them and make others reduce them. Food importers are the greatest losers. Greenidge is referring to the World Trade Organization negotiations and agriculture agreement.
Agriculture is central to the interests of developing countries.
And that is where Muthoni Muriu from Environment and Development Action Network sees their comparative advantage lie. However, WTO is threatening food security by negotiating intellectual property rights and thus treatening to make the poor pay for seed and unable to produce their own food even to the point of self sufficiency. The structural adjustment programmes are placing conditions on African states lending from the World Bank of getting IMF funds. They have already swept away agricultural subsidies in Africa, Muthoni reminds us. The removal of export subsidies from agriculture is already destroying livelihoods of Latin American, African and Asian farmers.