G-15 Rejects Moves To Clamp Unilateral Sanctions

A joint communique issued at the end of the three-day summit here said the efforts (of developing countries) can be impeded by the use of unilateral actions by major economies, in particular those with extra-territorial effects.

The reference was to the US legislation that penalises third countries from carrying out trade with Cuba (under the HelmsBurton Act), with Iran and Libya (under the DAmato Kennedy Act), as well as Indian concerns on child labour and environmental linkages with trade.

Indian officials have said they are particularly worried about the proposed US legislation that threatens to put US inspectors into factories tainted by child labour as well as the ban on the export of Indian shrimp which is not caught by turtle-excluding devices.

Summit chairman Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe lashed out at the enactment of such a legislation with extra-territorial effects. These measures violate the accepted norms of international law and constitute a serious threat to the sovereignty.. of nations.

India has been lobbying hard since the beginning of the summit with the G-15 leaders, explaining the implications of these unilateral measures to the developing world and seeking their inclusion in a final communique.

The summit discussed issues relating to the forthcoming ministerial meeting in Singapore, viz multilateral agreement on investment (MAI), labour standards, government procurement and the question of bribery and corruption, a statement from Prime Minister Deve Gowda said.

On all these issues there was substantial convergence against introducing the so-called new issues not specifically relating to trade at the WTO which is essentially to be a review conference. There was a convergence of views that (such) unilateral application should be resisted as it is violative of international law and WTO principles, the statement added.

The officials said this broad agreement of views will now be taken up with the other G-77 developing countries, both at the bilateral level and at the multilateral level at the Geneva secretariat of the WTO. It is now G-15s duty to bring in other countries before the WTO meeting, that was the view that emerged here, an official said.

New chairman Malaysia, whose prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamed had castigated western nations on the opening day of the summit for preventing the creation of a fair economic order, was also in good form yesterday.

CII president Shekhar Datta, who has led a large joint business delegation to the summit, also said the G-15 could be used as a trigger point to make business happen and not leave it for leaders to make speeches once a year.