New Delhi, Aug 24: Ahead of the WTO's Cancun ministerial, one of the country's largest trade union, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh today asked the developing countries to defeat any attempt to extend the general agreement on trade in services, cautioning that GATS will have a "potentially deeper" impact on the country's decision making, sovereignty and democracy. "GATS is more an agreement to promote the rights of foreign investors than an agreement on trade. As such, it has a potentially deeper impact on government's decision making, sovereignty and democracy than other agreements," the Sangh- Parivar backed BMS' president Hasubhai Dave said.
Addressing the South Asia regional seminar on WTO in Kathmandu, Dave said if the current negotiations continue, governments would be prevented from pursuing their national development strategies.
"The challenge (for developing countries) is to defeat any attempt and stop any further extension of GATS," he said, adding, "under present form of negotiation, pressures from the developed countries will continue to push the developing countries into making further commitments on liberalisation."
Dave said there was a "significant danger" that through GATS, the ideologically initiated drive towards liberalisation would be extended deeper and deeper into local economics and "developing countries should not offer new commitments at any cost".
This comes close on the heels of Swadeshi Jagran Manch coming out openly against the developed nations' stand at the WTO meeting.
Bureau Report