Singapore, NZ Have Acted In Poor Taste

Their proposal at the WTO to get their exports labelled as ‘essential’ in the context of the pandemic smacks of profit-seeking

- Abhijit Das

ABHIJIT DAS

What would be your reaction, if you were told that cut flowers, ice-cream, beer, wine, and vermouth are some of the essential goods for combating the COVID-19 pandemic? Dismiss it as fake news, or have a hearty laugh? Well, if we are to believe New Zealand and Singapore, then this is not only true, but actually quite a serious matter.

At the WTO, these two countries made a formal proposal on April 16, 2020, seeking a commitment from WTO members for ensuring that “during the COVID-19 global pandemic, production and trade in essential items such as medical supplies and food continue to flow freely to their intended destinations”. It is perhaps not a coincidence that a few weeks ago some former trade negotiators of the US had aired similar views. The New Zealand-Singapore joint proposal carries this narrative forward.

Could it be that New Zealand and Singapore are privy to some esoteric knowledge about the relevance and effectiveness of the products mentioned earlier in combating COVID-19, while rest of us are ignorant? Or is the joint proposal part of a larger gameplan of firms in developed countries to use the pandemic as an opportunity for making windfall commercial gains by extracting concessions at the trade-front from developing countries? Examining the implications of the joint proposal and assessing its effectiveness in combating COVID-19, provides useful pointers about the true intention of joint proposal.

Commitments sought