29 April, 2005

EU sugar regime ruled illegal

» BBC News | EU loses WTO plea on sugar aid
Last night, finally the WTO ruled that the EU's subsidies to sugar was illegal. As a result, the EU is to stop illegally dumping subsidised sugar on global markets.

The EU's subsidies to sugar producers in Europe has been labelled as the cause of poverty among sugar farmers in developing countries and criticised by NGOs such as Oxfam.

The reason why I'm enthusiastic about writing on this subject is because I studied it for my dissertation.

It was the end of August when I finished writing the dissertation. The WTO similarly ruled that the EU sugar regime was unfair. But Oxfam claimed that Europe's proposed reforms were not drastic enough.

And this time. Having had complaints from three strong sugar-producing countries - Brazil, Australia and Thailand, the WTO issued a final ruling against the EU sugar policy. What is written in latest related articles seems, to me, the same as what is written in ones of last year's August, but this time the situation appears to be different.

However, there are things to be cleared and done. The New York Times says;

Still, it is unclear how the European Union will respond to the ruling.

Oxfam warns;

If the EU (...) didn't implement sugar (...) in good faith, this could jeopardize the entire round of WTO trade talks.

The EU's reform proposals are expected in early July 2005.

By the WTO's decision, the EU has been given 15 months to reform its sugar regime. In fact, Brazil, Thailand and Australia claimed a 90-day deadline to comply, but the WTO rejected their call.

Is this really the end of the EU's unfair sugar regime? Even if this really happens, there is a long way to go for developing countries.

Many people, including me, wish to see good faith practised by the rich countries.

Here is also my photographs.
» auspicious version 2 | Photographs: Sugar Story

And links of related articles.
» Guardian Unlimited | European sugar subsidies ruled illegal
» The New York Times | Europe Loses Sugar Appeal at W.T.O.
» Oxfam | Press Release | WTO ruling on EU sugar subsidies must trigger serious reform, say Oxfam and WWF