ActionAid Comment on Collapse of G4 talks  

The Doha negotiations to conclude a trade liberalisation deal have missed several deadlines since the WTO's current Doha round was launched in the Qatari capital in 2001.

The much hyped G4 talks collapsed in Potsdam ( Germany ) yesterday. Among other key reasons was US not agreeing to make substantial cut in farm subsidies while India and Brazil did not accept US/EU demand of drastic opening up industrial, agricultural and services sectors.

ActionAid  welcomes India's position of showing "no flexibility" on opening of agriculture market, industrial and service sector for the US and EU. This is a victory of the people of India who have been opposing the rich countries dictate for unfair trade policies which is detrimental to the India 's industry, agriculture and livelihood of millions of poor farmers and workers.  

ActionAid strongly condemns the USA 's undemocratic ploy putting undue pressure on India as deal breaker. The world knows that the big and powerful countries and their intransigence and broken promises on development have turned the development round into deception round.

ActionAid demands the Government of India to withdraw from the undemocratic G4 formation rather be firm with the groupings of poor countries and should work on reforming the global trading system to achieve the people's development agenda.

The recently concluded Peoples conclave demanded the Government of India to address the domestic policies liable for mounting agrarian crisis, unequal growth led destruction of livelihood and safeguard the interest of poor and workers as part of its constitutional obligations.

Note to editor:

People's Conclave, an initiative of ActionAid, took place in Hyderabad , June 11-14 2007. Aimed at creating an alliance of poor and margianlised, it saw a participation of over 1400 people from across 24 States and two union territories.

The congregation  shared struggles, forged new networks and developed strategies for ending exploitation. Groups as diverse as manual scavengers, Gujarat riot survivors, indigenous communities who's land and culture is under threat, HIV positive people, children out of school and sex workers from West Bengal had assembled for the four-day event.

The concrete outcome of the Conclave was the People's Declaration which charted out

common issues, concerns and unified ways forward for a myriad of social groups from across the country.

ActionAid is an international anti-poverty agency working in over 40 countries, taking sides with poor people to end poverty and injustice together .

ActionAid Spokespeople

Umi Daniel , Head food and Livelihood unit, ActionAid , India

+91 9437045008. He is based in Hyderabad

Aftab Alam Khan, Head of ActionAid's trade justice campaign,

+92-300-8523118. He is based in Islamabad

Ends.