ALTERNATIVE SUMMIT/CIMEIRA ALTERNATIVA

The price of coffee is now 50 percent of what it was in 1997. A Haitian coffee grower would have to work three days to afford a capuccino in Europe, but that will never happen: not even a lifetime of hard work could afford her the ticket

BRAZIL, INDIA AND CHINA TO THE G8
By Mario Osava and Thalif Deen

China, Brazil and In dia, three major players in the de veloping world, will be invited to join the ranks of the world’s most powerful group of nations, the Group of Eight (G8), according to several diplomatic sources here.

BRASIL, ÍNDIA E CHINA NO G-8
Por Mario Osava e Thalif Deen

China, Brasil e Índia, três importantes partícipes do mundo em desenvolvimento, podem ser convidados para integrar-se ao mais poderoso grupo de nações, o Grupo dos Oito (G-8), segundo diversas fontes diplomáticas por aqui.

Trabalhar como um burro por um cafezinho

Uma mulher haitiana tem de trabalhar três dias colhendo café para ganhar os US$ 3 que custam um cafezinho expresso na Europa. O mercado mundial de café, na ponta do consumo como bebida, alcança US$ 110 bilhýes, mas os produtores ficam com apenas 5% disso, de US$ 5 a 6 bilhýes.. Esse quinhao já foi de US$ 11 bilhýes a 12 bilhýes nos melhores anos 80, quando o faturamento final era muito menor.

Talks on South-South Trade Preferences Begin

The committee of participants in the Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP) on Wednesday launched the third round of negotiations aimed exclusively at boosting trade within the developing South.

Comércio: Preferências Sul-Sul Estão Sendo Negociadas

O Comitê de Participantes do Sistema Global de Preferências Comerciais (SGPC) lançou nesta quarta-feira a terceira rodada de negociaçýes deste mecanismo destinado a aumentar o comércio Sul-Sul.

Lula: Concessions to be Taken, not Begged
By Mario Osava in São Paulo

Rich countries will not make trade concessions merely because the countries of the South demand them -- what is needed is a political force that can change the face of international relations, said Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as he explained his foreign policy to social activists attending UNCTAD XI.

Asia Stakes its Claim for Next UNCTAD Secretary-General
Thalif Deen

With Rubens Ricupero about to complete his second four-year term as Secretary-General of UNCTAD, there is intense lobbying for a job that falls vacant later this year.

Deadlines for the Poor, Not for the Rich
By Thalif Deen in São Paulo

Eveline Herfkens, Executive Coordinator for the UN´s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Campaign, is never known to pull her punches.

New Coalitions Under Way

As if planned to coincide with the likely entry of China and other major developing countries into the world’s most powerful club of governments, the G8, the ‘Helsinki Process’ launched last year by Finland and Tanzania held Tuesday a side event called ‘Building for Partnership’, in which the Finnish minister of Trade, Paula Lehtomäki, called for "new coalitions of governments".

Contradictory Alliance to Pursue Bio-Trade
By Mario Osava, in São Paulo

An apparently incongruous alliance between an oil company and a programme for sustainableuse of biodiversity was announced here Tuesday.

The Maestro of UN Mega Conferences

For hundreds and thousands of journalists who cover UN mega conferences-- from New York and Geneva to Johannesburg and Sao Paulo-- the public face of the United Nations is Abdellatif Kabbaj, chief of the UN´s Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit.

Rural Exodus to Even Worse Poverty
By Adalberto Wodianer Marcondes

International food reserves to ensure stable incomes in the countryside and clear rules to promote fair local trade and trade between countries are among the main demands voiced by the Civil Society Forum held this week parallel to the UNCTAD XI meeting.

Um êxodo para a miséria
Por Adalberto Wodianer Marcondes

Reservas internacionais de alimentos para garantir a estabilização da renda no campo e regras claras para a realização de comércio justo local e entre os países. Estas estão entre as principais demandas do Fórum da Sociedade Civil que acontece paralelo à reunião da XI Unctad.

The Poorest of Poor Countries Ask for Help
Mario Osava

The most vulnerable countries need to be given specific attention in all global forums because they are not receiving the official development assistance (ODA) that wealthy countries promised and are finding it difficult to take advantage of the expansion of international trade.

Os Países Mais Pobres Dentre os Pobres Pedem Ajuda
Por Mario Osava

Os países mais vulneráveis p r e c i s a m r e c e b e r atenção específica em todos os fóruns globais porque não estão recebendo a ajuda oficial para o desenvolvimento (AOD) prometida pelos países ricos e estão tendo dificuldades para tirar proveito da expansão do comércio internacional.

The World Is Democratising

UNCTAD XI was very productive, in itself and in the numerous parallel meetings it attracted to Sao Paulo, says Brazil’s Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.

O mundo se democratiza

AXI UNCTAD foi muito produtiva, em si mesma e pelas varias reuniýes que atraiu a Sao Paulo, no balanço do ministro brasileiro das Relaçýes Exteriores, Celso Amorim.

China Wants International Market Economy Status
By Antoaneta Bezlova in Beijing

China has launched a diplomatic charm offensive to convince its trade partners that the country's high-powered economy, which is the fastest growing in the world, deserves to be given market status.

Building Bridges to the Future
Adalberto Wodianer Marcondes

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva underlined, at the opening of UNCTAD XI, that there is a new world geography where countries of the South account for over 10 percent of global trade - a world where South meets South.

IS ODA GOING THE WAY OF THE DINOSAUR?
Thalif Deen

When UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan addressed a press conference yesterday, he was asked why no single speaker on opening day of UNCTAD XI had thought it fit to address the problem of declining official development assistance (ODA).

G-77 MINISTERS COMMIT THEMSELVES TO ERADICATING POVERTY

At the end of a two-day ministerial meeting commemorating its 40th anniversary, the 132-member Group of 77 unanimously adopted a declaration committing itself to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)-- and specifically to the eradication of poverty by 2015.

We Don't Want Another WTO

We do not want UNCTAD to be used to implement WTO agreements. We want it to keep its independence and critical approach with regards to supporting developing countries, says the message from the Civil Society Forum read at the Conference on Monday.

WTO: P5 Brings New Hopes

Export subsidies must be removed, domestic farm aid must be substantially reduced, and there needs to be a substantial increase in market access, said European Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy, in his announcement of the consensus reached by the informal group known as the ''Five Interested Parties'' (P5) -- bringing new hopes of a farm trade agreement at the World Trade Organisation.

DESEQUILÍBRIO GEOPOLÍTICO, A MAIOR AMEAÇA
Gustavo Capdevilla, de Genebra

Em uma entrevista com um pequeno grupo de jornalistas, em Genebra, antes da Conferência, o secretário-geral do Unctad delineou as dificuldades e oportunidades que se apresentam no atual impasse nas negociações de comércio global e regional, reporta Gustavo Capdevilla, de Genebra.

GEOPOLITICAL IMBALANCE, THE BIGGEST THREAT
Gustavo Capdevila, from Geneva

At a meeting with a small group of journalists held in Geneva before the Conference, the secretary-general of UNCTAD outlined the hurdles and opportunities presented by the current impasse in global and regional trade talks, reports

DESEQUILIBRIO GEOPOLÍTICO, AMENAZA PRINCIPAL
Por Gustavo Capdevila, desde Ginebra

En un encuentro con un reducido grupo de periodistas realizado en Ginebra unas semanas antes de la reunión de São Paulo, el Secretario General de UNCTAD hizo una radiografía de los escollos y oportunidades que representa el actual impasse en las negociaciones comerciales globales y regionales. Presentó a China e India como los más innovadores en materia económica, y al G20 como una de las fuerzas motrices del debate comercial. Ricupero dijo no tener la menor preocupación sobre el resultado futuro de la Conferencia, pero sí sobre el planeta: el problema más serio, dijo, reside en "los grandes desequilibrios entre Estados Unidos y el resto del mundo". Extractos:

As pontes para o futuro
Adalberto Wodianer Marcondes

Lula reforça na abertura da XI Unctad a existência de uma nova geografia mundial, onde o comércio entre os países do Sul já representa mais de 10% do total global.

O AOD ESTARIA CAMINHANDO PARA A EXTINÇÃO?

Quanto o secretário-geral da ONU, Kofi Annan, dirigiu-se aos jornalistas numa entrevista coletiva ontem, foi perguntado por que não havia um único palestrante no dia inaugural da XI Unctad que tivesse considerado adequado abordar o problema do cada vez menor Auxílio Oficial para o Desenvolvimento (AOD).

OMC: G-5 acena com novas esperanças

Os subsídios à exportação têm de desaparecer, com uma concomitante redução substancial do apoio doméstico e um aumento expressivo do acesso a mercados. Com este consenso político, enunciado pelo Comissário de Comércio da União Européia, Pascal Lamy, o informal Grupo dos 5 emitiu novas esperanças de um acordo na Organização Mundial do Comércio.

Grouping the Groups

If you are attending UNCTAD XI, most likely you already know what the different country-groups are, but in case you happen to wonder about the "alphabet soup" that has emerged, what they mean when they say the G77 demands participation along with the G20 and Cairns in the P5 talks, but the G33 and G90 demanded to be treated just as the G10, then read this

HIGHLIGHTS

"UNCTAD must be ready to make far-reaching proposals and resist pressure from some industrialised nations to limit its role."

Once Again, the Imbalances

Trade and wealth grow steadily, but so does inequality. Developing countries have now the chance to revert the trend by increasing South-South trade and exploring new competitive edges, writes Hilmi Toros from Istanbul.

South Fights for ‘Policy Space’ at UNCTAD XI
Martin Khor (Third World Network)

A key issue to be fought at UNCTAD XI will be the right of developing countries to "policy space". They say their freedom to have policies promoting development is being curbed by too many global rules that work against them, and are fighting for recognition of their right to this space. This is the main unresolved issue in the Draft UNCTAD XI Negotiated Text, which the Committee of the Whole will finalize starting Monday.

Despite Attempts to Undermine

Despite a 40-year battle to reverse the inequi ties and imbalances of the international economic system, the Group of 77 is still engaged in an uphill struggle, the chairman of the Group told delegates Friday.