Demand 3: STOP THE ASSAULT ON LIVELIHOODS AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NAMA NEGOTIATIONS
In the non-agricultural market access (NAMA) negotiations, which deal with industrial, mining, fisheries and forestry products, many industrialised countries, including the EU, are aggressively pursuing market opening for their exports, states S2B:

The EU demands that developing countries be subjected to the drastic "Swiss formula", aimed at slashing the industrial tariffs of developing countries to very low levels. Moreover, the EU wants to severely limit the flexibilities given to developing countries to exclude some products from being bound or from being subjected to this Swiss formula cut. The EU also demands that developing countries bind all their tariffs (which means giving up an important flexibility they now enjoy) and the calculation method it proposes for this will bind the currently unbound tariffs at very low levels as well.

As a result, a large number of developing countries would face the prospect of de- industrialisation with severe impacts on the level and the quality of employments and the loss of significant quantities of government customs revenue most needed to finance many essential services. NAMA would result in a further lock-in of many developing countries to their existing commodity dependence, whilst also discouraging diversification. Thus the NAMA negotiations present particular concern for the economic and social well-being of the lives of men and women both in the immediate aftermath of the implementation of such tariff cuts and in the long term growth dynamics of the country.

The EU should therefore not insist on the use of the Swiss formula for developing countries who should be able

to choose whether or not to reduce tariffs, and on which products;
to choose the rate at which to reduce bound tariffs;
to choose whether or not to bind their unbound tariffs, and to choose at which rates to bind if they decide to bind.

Furthermore, in NAMA, all natural resources are effectively on the table for either partial or complete liberalisation, with a particular focus at the moment on fish and fish products, gems and minerals. Thus NAMA, could impact significantly on countries natural resources and on policies designed to protect the environment. Worryingly, an extensive range of environmental standards both in Europe and elsewhere are also being challenged under the current NAMA negotiations.

Demand 3

The EU should halt the NAMA negotiations and agree to a full and independent review of NAMA’s potential impacts on economic development, industrial diversification in developing countries, the environment and social welfare (including employment, health and gender balance). The EU should recognise and guarantee governments’ domestic policy space and flexibilities preserving their right to use policy tools including trade measures, that

develop fair and sustainable economies,
protect and promote employment, social welfare, health and the environment
guarantee public participation and
promote resource conservation and the sustainable management of natural resources

including by stopping the further liberalisation of trade in natural resources such as forests, fish, oils, gas, metals and minerals.

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