TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT


of raw materials are exchanged for manufactured goods. At global level, South Africa


is a proponent of multilateralism, transparency and inclusiveness. We regard multilateralism as a necessary intergovernmental response to manage the challenges of globalization and deepen interdependence among economies and societies around the world. The playing field in world trade nevertheless remains highly uneven and biased against the interests of developing countries. In the WTO, South Africa remains committed to concluding the Doha Development Agenda on the basis of its development mandate and the single undertaking. We believe that any


meaningful deliverables reached by the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali in December 2013 should address the key developmental concerns of the poorest and most vulnerable WTO members. In the current global economic environment, governments have agreed to resist protectionism and disguised restrictions on international trade.


Guarding against new international barriers In our view, we need to respect the WTO-consistent policy space available to developing countries to pursue their legitimate objectives of growth, development and stability in these conditions. Our concern has


been that protectionism has been narrowly conceived and that the trade measures overseen by the G20 through the WTO tend to cover measures that developing countries take to protect their industries in the economic downturn while other, more sophisticated protectionist measures are not addressed. For example, while expansionary


monetary policy in developed countries may be necessary to stimulate growth and support external demand, the spill-over impact on exchange rates in developing countries can be a source of serious concern. South Africa is concerned about the range of new unilateral measures that constrain market access for its exports or limit the


prospects for economic diversification and domestic value-addition. These measures, as well as more traditional tariffs and subsidy barriers in agricultural markets, proposals to review and tighten existing preference schemes and new non-tariff barriers such as public and private standards (some ostensibly implemented for environmental reasons) all indicate growing protectionism in South Africa’s major markets. With this renewed focus on


strategic global integration, our trade policy and strategy during the third decade of South Africa’s democracy should contribute more decisively towards achieving the socio- economic developmental objectives we have set ourselves.


The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue One - South Africa | 25


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