Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 9 • Number 1 • 19th January 2005
Sustainable Development Needs Of SIDS Addressed At Mauritius Meeting
Trade featured high on the agenda at a recent meeting on small island developing states (SIDS), held from 10-14 January at Port Louis, Mauritius. The International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS, which counted UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and presidents from 18 countries among the 2000 participants, concluded by adopting a "Mauritius Declaration" and the "Mauritius Strategy" for further implementing the Programme of Action. Given that the meeting took place soon after the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia, participants emphasised the disaster and linked it to the needs of SIDS in areas such as early warning systems, with Kofi Annan calling for a global system in this regard.
Tough negotiations on trade text
The Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS — adopted at the end of the conference as the "Mauritius Strategy" — had been under negotiation through a series of regional meetings and sessions of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. The strategy covers a number of areas, including: climate change; natural and environmental disasters; management of wastes; resources, including coastal and marine; and trade - globalisation and trade liberalisation. At the beginning of the meeting, the section on trade remained one of only two not yet agreed.
During negotiations, participants debated issues related to the erosion of trade preferences and its effects on SIDS. They also addressed the question of whether a special category for small and vulnerable economies, such as the SIDS, should be created within the WTO system. A number of SIDS pushed for this, with Anthony Severin, St. Lucia’s Ambassador to the Caribbean Community arguing that preferential trade rules for small island nations could offset vulnerability resulting from their heavy dependence on exports, tiny local markets and high transportation costs. However, developed countries including the EU opposed such a designation, preferring to make commitments to help improve SIDS’ trade capacities. Among statements by intergovernmental agencies, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) stressed that environmental issues should not be used as a reason to raise trade barriers.
The Mauritius Declaration
The political outcome of the SIDS conference, the "Mauritius Declaration," which sets the context for the "Mauritius Strategy," recognises that trade is important for building resilience and sustainable development in SIDS, and calls for attention to the specific needs and priorities of SIDS in the trade realm. The declaration calls for SIDS to be supported in fully integrating into the multilateral trading system in accordance with the WTO’s Doha mandate on small economies.
Mauritius Strategy
The "Mauritius Strategy" goes into more detail on follow-up and implementation. In its final version, the Strategy acknowledges the special difficulties SIDS face in integrating into the global economy due to their small size and structural disadvantages. According to the Strategy, trade liberalisation and globalisation present SIDS with both opportunities and challenges, including in terms of preference erosion. The Strategy reaffirms countries’ commitment to the rules-based multilateral trading system. It welcomes the WTO July Package and Members’ new resolve to fulfil the development dimension of the Doha Round, and stresses the importance of facilitating effective participation by small economies such as SIDS, which often lack representation in Geneva or are involved in the challenging accession process. The trade section of the Mauritius Strategy concludes by listing areas of key concern to SIDS: WTO accession; graduation from LDC status; capacity constraints; technical assistance; structural vulnerabilities; erosion of preferences; structural adjustment; the relationship between trade, environment and development; trade and food security; and lack of Geneva representation.
To view the "Mauritius Declaration," visit http://www.un.org/smallislands2005/pdf/mauritiusdeclaration.pdf
To view the "Mauritius Strategy," visit http://www.un.org/smallislands2005/pdf/sids_strategy.pdf
ICTSD reporting; "Support to small islands on disaster preparedness pledged in UN meeting," XINHUANET, 14 January 2005; "Summary Of The International Meeting To Review The Implementation Of The Programme Of Action For The Sustainable Development Of Small Island Developing States," EARTH NEGOTIATIONS BULLETIN, 17 January 2005; "Small Islands Seek Access to Markets", ASSOCIATED PRESS, 11 January 2005; "Mauritius International Meeting (BPoA+10) Press Releases," SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES NETWORK, 10-14 January 2005.