Tag Archives: trade agreements

Beware of international assistance—Pakistan Signs On With IMF Again

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September 10, 2013   Jalees Hazir   http://www.nation.com.pk

The government has signed another suicidal contract with the IMF, promising continued obedience to the diktat of the dollar empire.

Why is it so difficult for the ruling PML-N to act upon its 2013 election campaign pledge that it would break the begging bowl? Have the new managers of our economy so much as even seriously considered breaking the bowl of poisonous brews pressed against our lips and poured down our throats in the guise of helpful assistance?

Obviously, if they had given it some thought, they would have come up with a comprehensive plan to sustain Pakistan’s economy without the dollars doled out by the fund, the grand-daddy don of the international monetary system, and other lesser donors in the gang that wait for their cue from the IMF don. No such plan has been presented by the ruling party. In fact, other political parties that use a lot of anti-IMF rhetoric have also failed to present a workable alternative.

Admittedly, coming up with an alternative model of economy is not an easy task. A vast web of many traps has progressively tied us to the hypocritical framework of the IMF that uses the jargon of helping poor and unstable economies to their feet while cutting the hands and feet of countries it assists, making them crippled and dependent on its dole for quarterly survival.

Yet, it is an absolutely necessary and urgent task that the country’s leadership is sleeping on.
The timid so-called alternative floated by the PTI before the elections was mired in the same problematic neo-liberal framework promoted by the IMF, and didn’t go further than tweaking it obediently. There was no attempt to grapple with the fundamental flaws in the international monetary system controlling the planet and its resources and designed to rob the poor to enrich the rich. Certainly, there is a need to look beyond the dollar and the craftily constructed indices of development and growth.

One will not have to start from a scratch either. There is already a debate regarding the air-filled god of dollar and its fictitious worth. Proposals for a new ‘more solid’ and jointly regulated international currency have been floating for a while and countries are finding ways to bypass the dollar through currency swap agreements, barter and other trade arrangements.

There are valuable lessons to be learnt from countries resisting the exploitative framework of the IMF and the unhindered corporate imperialism it would like to impose on the globe through its policy prescriptions. But successive Pakistani governments have gone on following the tricky pied piper as if that was the only option.

The nation has paid the price for that, not only because of the anti-poor policies prescribed by the IMF but also because the multi-million tranches, a bulk of which is used up to pay interest on earlier debt, are tied to good behavior on our part when it comes to conducting our affairs in other spheres.

We must accept killings on our territory by American drones even if it occurs on Pakistan’s defence day. We must not be too enthusiastic about the Pakistan-Iran pipeline. We must develop good ties and trade with India even while it kills Pakistani villagers and soldiers on the LOC and badmouths and threatens us. We must not question the fallacy called ‘War on Terror’ and go along with the plans charted out for our subjugation and eventual destruction.

A large section of the very vocal and very resourceful elitist intelligentsia spends overtime in convincing us of our helplessness. Dominating the discourse in the media, these so-called intellectuals exaggerate the dependence of Pakistan on international assistance and tell us that without the loans and aid, our country would collapse. They would like us to believe that we are a dying patient who could not survive without the oxygen of foreign assistance.

With their interests, elitist credentials and careers enmeshed with the dollar empire, they bind our minds in the chains of slavery and are quick to deride any assertion of independence or sovereignty as emotional ghairat. They would like us to sink deeper and deeper in the quicksand of dependence and the resulting suicidal obedience.

This lobby of opinion leaders might be the most ardent lawyers of the empire in our midst but they are not the only ones. Whether it is political leaders or the military top brass, the bureaucrats or business leaders, the ngo-wallahs or clerics, we seem to have developed a very high level of tolerance for foreign assistance and seem oblivious of all that it brings.

Our government depends on an IMF injection to balance the budget and the peanuts of USAID for development. The military requires the coalition support fund to counter terrorists. The NGOs need donors to fund its projects. Even the religious institutions get foreign assistance for spreading the message of God.

It would be silly to think that all this assistance doesn’t come with a cost or that those assisting us have any altruistic reasons to help us. By opening our doors to these tainted funds we provide leverage to foreign players to meddle in our internal affairs, buy loyalties of our citizens and even shape our societies in ways that suit them. The cacophony of donor-driven voices is designed to confuse our national priorities and create a distractionary discourse aimed at taking us further from any solutions. The fragmentation and divisions caused by various shades of foreign-assisted projects and programs is a constant hurdle in the evolution of a national narrative.

There is a need to end the inflow of the inherently two-faced foreign assistance in whatever garb it comes. And since the Nawaz government says that it will fix the country by fixing the economy, perhaps it should have started by saying no to the IMF. After outsourcing economic planning to the IMF, there is little it could do on that count.

Besides, the more important question remains: Is it even thinking on those lines? Or was all the brave talk about breaking the begging bowl just a popular slogan that it raised without meaning it?

The writer is a freelance columnist.

TPP Trade Ministers Press Briefing/Statement (Update from 19th Round of TPP Negotiations in Brunei)

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By Krista Cox on 23. August 2013  http://keionline.org

On August 23, 2013, the TPP Ministerial meeting concluded with a press briefing. Stakeholders were not allowed to attend, but according to media sources, the briefing lasted only 20 minutes and reportedly the ministers only took a handful of questions before ending the briefing.

Apparently, Ambassador Froman confirmed that the October 2013 deadline was not possible, but that countries were now looking for “milestones” by October with the hope of concluding the agreement by the end of the year.

There have been no announcements regarding the location or date of the next TPP round, though there are rumours that it could be hosted by Mexico or Canada.

The joint press statement is copied below:

Joint Press Statement
TPP Ministerial Meeting
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
August 23, 2013

Brunei, Darussalam — The ministers of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries have met jointly and bilaterally on August 22 and 23, 2013 to consider how to address key outstanding issues as negotiations toward a comprehensive, high-standard regional trade and investment agreement enter the final stage.

Noting that the majority of issues are now at an advanced stage, the 12 countries — Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States and Vietnam — have explored how to develop a mutually-acceptable package, including possible landing zones on remaining sensitive and challenging issues and sequencing of issues in the final talks. Particular areas of focus have included matters related to market access for goods, services/investment, financial services, and government procurement as well as the texts covering intellectual property, competition, and environmental issues. We also discussed the remaining outstanding issues on labor, dispute settlement, and other areas.

This meeting of TPP Ministers has taken place as the 19th round of TPP negotiations gets underway in order to offer guidance to negotiators and help drive the negotiations to conclusion on the 2013 timeframe instructed by our Leaders. We discussed how best to achieve an outcome consistent with our common goal of achieving an ambitious and balanced 21st-century agreement that will enhance trade and investment among us, promote innovation, economic growth and development, and support the creation and retention of jobs in our countries.

We have agreed to maintain our active engagement in the lead up to the APEC Leaders meeting in Bali, Indonesia, on the margins of which TPP Leaders are expected to meet as they have in past years. This meeting will be an important milestone as the 12 countries work intensively to conclude this landmark agreement.

Malaysia Could Delay TPP Pact

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By Chua Guan Cheong   http://www.bt.com.bn   Saturday, August 24, 2013
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
MALAYSIA’S decision to conduct two cost-benefit analyses on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could delay the signing of the agreement, which was originally slated to be concluded by October this year.
According to reports by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Malaysia’s federal Cabinet has agreed to two cost-benefit analyses aimed at equipping Malaysian negotiators with additional information as they seek to safeguard the broader interests of all stakeholders in the country.
The WSJ wrote that one study will focus on the overall impact of the trade agreement on Malaysia’s national interest. The other will examine how the interests of small and medium enterprises (SME) and businesses owned by bumiputras (indigenous people) would be affected if the TPP comes into effect.
“The only way to convince the stakeholders is to do a cost-benefit analysis and send a message that, even though there are some short-term losses, in the long run the country is going to benefit,” the WSJ quoted Singapore-based Sanchita Basu Das, a lead researcher in economic affairs at the ASEAN Studies Centre, as saying.
Last month, the 18th round of negotiations was conducted in Malaysia’s Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. According to the WSJ, some thorny issues such as the diminished role of state-owned enterprises in the post-TPP market had sparked resistance in Vietnam and Malaysia, where government-backed companies are deeply entrenched in the economy.
“The Cabinet is of the view that Malaysia should not be bound by any fixed timeline with regard to the TPP,” a statement last week from Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said.
According to The Malay Mail, high on the priority is the concern that Malaysia will have to sacrifice its affordable, government-regulated health care and medicine.
“The Cabinet is firm in ensuring access to affordable medicine remains its utmost priority, which will not be compromised in the ongoing TPP negotiations,” the MITI said in the statement.
Negotiators of all 12 TPP countries — Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, the United States, Australia, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico, Canada, Japan — are currently in the Sultanate for the 19th round of TPP negotiations.
The ministers of the TPP countries met yesterday and Thursday to discuss how best to address key outstanding issues to meet the October time frame, seemingly to coincide with American President Barack Obama’s visit to the region.
While the general sentiments among stakeholders in all 12 countries seem to point to an uneasiness about the secrecy surrounding the TPP discussions, with minimal information being disclosed after more than three years and 18 rounds of negotiations. US Trade Representative Michael Froman told Bruneian media on Wednesday that “this is among the most transparent processes of any international negotiations we have seen”.
Froman was quoted by The Brunei Times as saying: “We in the United States consult very pro-actively with our Congress … at every stage in the negotiation process, including before we take on any proposals.”
The Brunei Times

Trans-Pacific Partnership will not interfere with sovereignty

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By  Debbie Too      http://www.bt.com.bn  Saturday, August 24, 2013

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE comprehensive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) will not compromise a nation’s sovereignty, and laws that are perceived to be “a disguised form of trade restriction” can be challenged.

The dispute settlement provisions in the TPP are expected to hold governments accountable to corporations and would be heard by offshore tribunals.
At a press conference yesterday at the International Convention Centre (ICC), where ministers of member countries held the 19th round of negotiations, United States Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman said there is nothing in the TPP that will prevent a country from adopting or applying regulations on health and safety.
“It is an important act of sovereignty to be able to do that,” he said. In regard to the dispute mechanism, Froman pointed out the TPP has not yet been signed and that only draft proposals have been made. “In a number of trade agreements there are a number of provisions that allow for challenges if a regulation is being used as a disguised form of trade restriction,” he said, when asked about dispute mechanisms in relation to Brunei’s strict tobacco regulations.
YB Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Dewa Dato Seri Setia Lim Jock Seng, Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, added to the statement saying that if (Brunei) has certain health issues, it will be something that “will be worked out”, but he does not believe it will pose a problem.
“Essentially, what we are doing with the TPP is producing a very high-standard free trade agreement and the question really is for Brunei, and all of us, and it will be bring a lot of benefits and that’s why we are all here,” said YB Pehin Dato Lim when asked what Brunei stood to gain from the trade pact. A member of the Japanese press asked how TPP member countries would strike a balance between coming up with comprehensive rules for the agreement and protecting each country’s identity when it came to sectors such as agriculture, state-owned enterprises and global rules prohibiting certain industries.
New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser said the negotiations for the TPP are “no different from any negotiation that any of (the ministers) had previously participated in”.
He said the visiting trade ministers understood that there were highly sensitive issues regarding agriculture and market access. He pointed out that the delegates have had years of practical experience handling “these sensitivities” and that no one would be pushed into a corner.
“We all understand that we want to be here long-term. Nothing has changed in that respect. We are now trying to find a politically mature way to get towards the long-term goals set out by our leaders,” he said, adding that the combination of traditional modalities and their experience would help ministers achieve a “perfectly sensible transition”. Groser added that it could take many years and a great deal of flexibility before the TPP was signed but that the ministers’ goals are similar.
International media convened at the press conference hall of the ICC yesterday, and asked ministers about topics such as intellectual property, the protection of state-owned businesses and agriculture.
Ministers met over the last two days to address key outstanding issues and published a joint statement yesterday. It added that negotiations were heading towards a comprehensive, high-standard regional trade and investment agreement, which is now in the “advanced stage”.
Key issues that have been discussed included market access of goods, services, investment, financial services and government procurement, as well as the text covering intellectual property, competition and environmental issues.
“They also discussed the remaining outstanding issues regarding labour, dispute settlement and other areas,” the statement said. It added that this round of TPP negotiations had offered guidance to negotiators and were designed to push negotiations to meet the 2013 time frame.
Froman said: “We discussed how best to achieve an outcome consistent with our common goal in achieving an ambitious and balanced 21st century agreement that will enhance trade among us.”
The Brunei Times

A photo from the lobby: the seven TPP chapters being negotiated

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 Provided by iPolitics  By BJ Siekierski | Aug 22, 2013

From the lobby of the venue where the nineteenth round of TPP negotiations are taking place in Brunei over the next eight days, seven pieces of paper reveal — at least in part — what chapters are being discussed.

TPP chapters Brunei

As seen in the photo above, which was sent to iPolitics, the initial focus will be on financial services, intellectual property, government procurement, market access, environment, investment, and rules of origin.

The agreement contains 26 chapters in total, somewhere between five and nine of which are believed to be completed.

What makes this round particularly interesting, however, is the presence of TPP-member ministers.

Again, as the photo shows, they’ll actually be gathering in the same venue as the negotiators (though the ministers are only there Thursday and Friday) — creating as good an opportunity as any to resolve differences.

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