PHA-Exchange> Interview with Joseph Stiglitz on Free Trade Agreementss

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: DiemHang hanaq at netnam.vn
From: "Thiru Balasubramaniam" thiru at keionline.org


http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=9510

The Edge Daily (Malaysia) | 30-08-2007
Stiglitz: FTAs advantageous to US
by Maryann Tan & Yong Yen Nie  (excerpts)

KUALA LUMPUR: Nobel laureate and former World Bank chief economist
Joseph Stiglitz believes that no country should enter into free trade
agreements with the US, as none of the developing countries has
benefited greatly from them.

Stiglitz called free trade agreements
"advantaged agreements in essence" and "a disaster for developing
countries and the global trading system".

"Countries do not need free trade agreements. People will come and
invest in your country if you provide good infrastructure and human
resources.

Below are the excerpts of the interview:

Q: What about free trade agreements (FTAs)? We are concerned about
being less attractive to foreign direct investment, and now we seem to
be moving along the path of signing bilateral agreements with other
countries, especially the United States. What are your views of
bilateral agreements between developed countries and developing
countries? Are we better off without them?

A: Overall, bilateral agreements have been a disaster, for the
developing countries and for the global trading system. The global
trading system is based on principle of non-discrimination, which is
called the most favoured nation principle. These FTAs are creating a
world in which there are two groups - the first consist of "my friends
who can get in free" and the other, consist of countries that have to
pay tariffs. So, it is a disaster.

Secondly, bargaining between the United States and developing countries
is not bargaining. Especially under the Bush (administration), it has
been a take-it-or-leave-it situation. The provisions, the way I see
them, have not benefited most of the countries in significant ways. In
fact, these countries lost a great deal, especially access to
intellectual property.

They have more difficulty accessing to knowledge and particularly,
generic medicine. So, there are thousands of people dying in developing
countries because of the trade agreements with the United States. They
don't want to talk about it that way, but that is what is happening.

Q: Should we walk away from these agreements?

A: Yes. The good news is, the tariffs now are so low, that they no
longer serve as an impediment to trade. If you have good infrastructure
and educated people, they will come to your country (to invest). The tariff
of 3%-5% is not going to make any difference to the friendly business
atmosphere, which Malaysia has.

Q: So, that means FTAs are not about trading goods?

A: It's not about trading goods; it's about losing sovereignty. And
it's about helping American drug companies. It's about America pushing
for a particular agenda. It has not benefited any country. In fact, the
free trade agreement with Mexico was the strongest, but the gap between
Mexico and the United States increased in the first decade.

They are not free trade agreements. They are not about free trade, but
they are advantaged trade agreements. And they managed to advantage the
United States at the cost of the developing countries.
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