At the inaugural ceremony of the 2002 World Food and Farming Congress, held recently in London, I found myself sandwiched at a dinner between the two poles – a former United States ambassador for agriculture to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Zimbabwe's permanent representative. Since this was the closest I had ever been to the trade negotiators, I summoned up the courage to ask a question of the former US ambassador: "Tell me, how do you arm-twist developing countries into submission?"
At the inaugural ceremony of the 2002 World Food and Farming Congress, held recently in London, I found myself sandwiched at a dinner between the two poles – a former United States ambassador for agriculture to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Zimbabwe's permanent representative. Since this was the closest I had ever been to the trade negotiators, I summoned up the courage to ask a question of the former US ambassador: "Tell me, how do you arm-twist developing countries into submission?"
The former ambassador was taken aback. "Who gave you this idea that we arm-twist developing countries?" he asked. "This is propaganda, a figment of imagination of the international NGO community". I corrected myself, "You do not have to feel embarrassed. I am aware of how you have brought India to its knees. But tell me, how did you do it to the other two giants, China and Brazil?" Without flinching, the ex-diplomat replied, "Actually, China and Brazil are not the problem. The real problem is India".
A few days later, the US secretary of agriculture, Ann Veneman, who had earlier served on the board of Calgene, the first company to market genetically engineered foods, spoke at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, DC. "Some developing countries argue that they should not have to open up markets until the developed countries first make domestic support reductions", Veneman said. "This is a formula for failure". Echoing the same brand of hypocrisy, World Bank Chief Economist Nicholas Stern, while travelling through India, while denouncing subsidies paid by rich countries to their farmers as "sin… on a very big scale", warned India against resisting the opening of its markets. "Developing countries must remove their trade barriers regardless of what is happening in the developed countries".