Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Elio Rodriguez Perdomo made that statement at a round table on ‘International trade as an engine for development,’ which is taking place during the 1st Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, until July 26.
Rodriguez warned that ‘the fall in exports, the volatility of commodity prices, unilateral trade restrictive measures and discriminatory tariffs hinder the ability of many of our countries to diversify our trade activity and, therefore, our economies.’
In this regard, he noted the need to reform international value chains, which are generally controlled by transnational corporations, to enable developing nations to achieve a higher degree of industrialization of their products.
He considered that, in terms of financing, the confidence to be generated must begin with real political will to turn trade into an engine for development, and not a means to feed the coffers of transnationals that control prices globally and operate, on occasions, with the complicity of governments.
For a successful conclusion of the Doha Development Round, launched in 2001, its results must significantly redress the imbalances and inequalities in the multilateral trading system in favor of greater integration among developing countries in international trade, as well as greater access for exports from the South to world markets, he stressed.
The measures taken to combat climate change, including the unilateral ones, should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade,’ the deputy foreign minister stressed.
On behalf of Cuba, Rodriguez rejected the application of unilateral coercive economic measures, inconsistent with international law and the United Nations Charter.
Such illegal and inhumane measures prevent our countries from entering international markets, including the commodity markets, on equal terms, in a fair and inclusive manner, he concluded.
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