Jamaica's foreign minister urges "special and differential treatment" for small economies

Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. K.D. Knight.

Sunday, September 14, 2003

CANCUN, Mexico: "The global trading system has not served developing countries as a whole well," and its time for small economies in the region and globally to benefit from "special and differential treatment." That's the word from Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. K.D. Knight.

Speaking at the World Trade Organization's fifth ministerial conference, which wraps up in Cancun, Mexico, today, Minister Knight urged delegates to adopt concrete measures to address the special needs of developing states, the Jamaican Advocate reported.

"My delegation is here expressing Jamaica's disappointment," said the minister, referring to the WTO's "lack of progress" on adopting specific remedies to put developing countries on a level playing field as they embrace global trade. "We know that a few developing countries have performed quite well. But a relatively few exceptions do not the rule make," he said.

At the five-day conference officials have been hammering out trade agreements that will change the rules of the game for international trade. Their decisions will pose wide-ranging implications for the regional economies in Caricom, which will face increased competition from abroad under liberalized trade rules. 

"Small developing countries like Jamaica cannot and should not be expected to follow the same policy prescriptions applied to larger more advanced countries," added Mr. Knight. "We are increasingly unable to find space for ourselves in the global trading system, and we are insisting that the WTO cannot remain aloof from our concerns." 

Protests continued yesterday and are expected to continue today as well. An estimated 2,000 anti-WTO militants yesterday marched to a police barricade about 10 kilometers from the convention center as protests continued apace in this resort town.

Anti-globalization protesters burn an effigy of the WTO during a demonstration at the barricaded entrance to the hotel zone of Cancun yesterday

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