Global trade must be fair to bring prosperity to all players - Mahama

Accra, Nov. 17, GNA - Vice President Aliu Mahama on Monday said the economies of developing countries would grow when there was greater openness in global trade.

He, therefore, urged the developed countries to cooperate with their developing counterparts to adopt mutually favourable trade rules and agreements.

Vice President Mahama, who was opening a meeting of ECOWAS Trade and Finance Ministers in Accra, noted that the current global trade environment favoured powerful nations, stressing that until the rules governing trade were crafted to benefit all countries there could be no global prosperity. He said: "Trade is an important catalyst for development...There must be better market access for developing countries, underpinned by very well balanced trade rules...I, therefore, urge countries to ensure that the various trade barriers in the form of very high tariffs, tariff peaks and tariff escalation are removed."

The Meeting, preceded by a technical session for experts, would consider for adoption a revised road map for the second phase of the Economic Partnership Agreement (ECA) negotiations with the European Union. It would also review the progress made on the regional trade liberalisation agenda and other outstanding issues such as the implementation of the new ECOWAS rules of origin; introduction of new ECOWAS customs document; total elimination of roadblocks and all other forms of non-tariff barriers.

Vice President Mahama said non-tariff barriers in the form of stringent technical regulations, sanitary measures, rules of origin and environmental issues were inconspicuously distorting trade and must be checked.

"The subsidies that developed countries give to their farmers, with the resultant negative effect on our economies cannot be justified under the current global trading environment," he complained.

As efforts were made to remove those barriers, poor countries, the Vice President assured, would carry out their domestic reforms to take advantage of the level-trade playing field that would be offered so that prosperous trade would facilitate economic growth and reduce poverty.

He tasked the meeting to devise effective schemes to address those problems and to strengthen Africa's position in global trade.

Vice President Mahama expressed concern about the numerous ECOWAS Protocols that had not been implemented and called for a new commitment to enforce them.

He referred to the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, whose implementation, he said, had been dismally lagging behind schedule. Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister of Regional Cooperation and NEPAD, called for increased trade among countries in the Sub-Region, as was the case in Asia and Europe.

Backing his call with statistics, Dr Apraku said, last year, Ghana for instance had 42 per cent of its imports from Europe, while nearly 60 per cent of her exports went to Europe.

However, only 2.1 per cent of Ghana's imports were from the ECOWAS Sub-Region and 24.3 per cent of her exports went to ECOWAS countries. Dr Apraku said at the continental level, Africa contributed only about two per cent of world merchandise exports in 1999, hence the disregard for Africa's concerns by the stronger players.

Out of this, intra regional merchandise trade amounted to 11 billion dollars, whilst extra regional merchandise trade was 101 billion dollars. In contrast, Dr Apraku said, Asia's intra regional merchandise trade for the same period was 650 billion dollars, comparing favourably with its extra-regional exports of 744 billion dollars.

He, therefore, urged African countries to rise above their petty peculiar trade problems and form a stronger united front to be able to negotiate as a force to reckon with in international trade.