THE AFRICAN AGENDA
Despite the adoption of sometimes painful economic reforms by many African countries over the past two decades, the promised benefits of trade liberalization have not materialized. Fully 70 percent of the wealth generated by trade liberalization has flowed to developed countries. By some measures, the rules governing world trade-set largely by the industrialized countries over the course of the 1986-94 Uruguay Round of Agreements-have only contributed to Africa's economic woes...

• African delegates were optimistic that their agenda would be taken up in Seattle, if only because VITO decisions are made by consensus and developing countries are in the majority.. (But after a series of rebuffs and serious denial of equal time or partnership, and "exclusion from the process" of negotiations.) ... the Africa Group issued a statement denouncing the process of threatening to block any agreement reached without its participation. "There is no transparency .in the proceedings and African countries are being marginalized and generally excluded on issues of vital importance to our peoples... Under the present circumstances, we will not be able to join the consensus required to meet the objectives of this ministerial conference." The Africans were soon joined by Caribbean governments, which issued a similar statement. "The industrial countries now understand that our interests can no longer be ignored," remarked South African Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin.
  
  
• For Africa, changes in the rules governing world trade are vital. At the heart of the demand for a development round (restructuring the trade agreements) is the failure of Northern countries to open their markets to Southern (African/ Caribbean) exports. Access to northern markets could have a dramatic impact on the economies of developing countries which would quickly be able to increase their exports to developed countries by some $700 billion annually, according to a 1999 report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
  
  
• Developing countries continue to face formidable barriers to Northern markets. Tariffs on manufactured products entering industrialized countries' markets from developing countries average four times higher than those imposed on manufactured goods from other industrialized states...
  
  
• Dr. John Abu, Ghana's Trade and Industry Minister, told Africa Recovery in Seattle that the problem with free trade lies not in the theory but in the implementation. Globalization, he said, "has to be translated in such a way that everybody gains."