TINY KINGDOM OF TONGA SET TO JOIN WTO ON 'WORST TERMS EVER'

15 December 2005
Pacific Media Watch
Source -- Oxfam New Zealand 15/12/5

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As the price of joining the WTO, the remote, impoverished nation (population 100,000) will be forced to slash the tariffs on which it depends to pay for vital public services such as health and education.

"Tonga will have to fix its tariffs at levels lower than any other country in the history of the WTO, with the sole exception of Armenia," said Bloomer. Tonga will be allowed tariffs of no more than 20% on any product. In comparison, the US applies a 350% tariff on beef imports, and the EU applies an equivalent tariff of over 300% to block sugar imports. Such low tariffs threaten to wipe out Tonga’s vulnerable farmers and small businesses.

Releasing the analysis today, Oxfam’s Phil Bloomer said: "Both the EU and the US were active in the negotiations which led to this atrocious deal. This highlights the grotesque double-standards in operation at the WTO. It sets a very depressing tone for the talks."
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