WTO
Developing Countries On Back Foot

By Uttam Maharjan

THE World Trade Organisation (WTO) the world economic body was established on the first of January, 1995 on the heels of hectic negotiations known popularly as the Uruguay Round, which took place from 1986 to 1993. Its establishment was endorsed by commercial ministers in their Marrakesh parley in 1994. General Agreement and Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the predecessor to WTO, functioned as an interim policy-maker since 1947 till its replacement by WTO in 1995. WTO, on the other hand, is a permanent international treaty. Its status is like that of the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund.

Common Forum

WTO is a legal and institutional foundation of multilateral trading systems. It is a common forum for negotiation and settlement of trade disputes and also a protector of global trade rules.
WTO is governed by two important documents: One is General Agreements- a code with 38 articles that ensure open, non-discriminatory trade in goods, services, agricultural products and textiles.
The other is a 500-page Specific Accord. The most favoured nation clause encapsulated in the General Agreements binds all member countries to give equal treatment to goods and services of other member countries. Member countries can, however, suspend their obligations citing their national security or public health issues.

WTO has some units facilitating its administration. The Secretariat is an administrative and research structure with no decision- making powers. Over 500 staff are working for it. The General Council is the main decision-making entity. It meets once a month. The council appoints the Director General in consultation with member countries. The tenure of the Director General is 4 years. The council also appoints the Chairman from among ambassadors for one year. The Chairman is a de facto leader of WTO and outranks the Director General.

The salient feature of WTO is that all decisions are made by consensus by member countries and later ratified by their respective parliaments. Any dispute between member countries is handled by the Dispute Settlement Board through a dispute settlement mechanism. The world body also takes measures to ensure that trade policies of member countries are in conformity with those formulated by it. Thus has helped prevent trade disputes flaring up into serious conflicts between member countries.

WTO is the only international body dealing with global rules of trade between member countries. Its main functions include ensuring smooth and hassle-free trade between member countries, administering trade agreements, acting as a forum for trade negotiations, resolving trade disputes through a dispute settlement mechanism, reviewing trade policies of member countries, assisting developing countries in trade policy issues and cooperating with other international bodies like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Gaining accession to WTO and enjoying the benefits it provides is not so simple. After being a member, a country will have to reform its tax, legal, infrastructure and service systems. It will have to improve its production system so as to produce quality goods that can compete with similar goods from developed countries. But the point is that developing countries lack adequate capital, skilled manpower and sophisticated technology. This has stymied mass production of quality goods at a cheaper price.

Developing countries have less negotiating power vis-a-vis developed countries. So they are often sidelined in trade negotiation.

Nepal has been trying to join WTO for quite a long time. In fact, the country tried to gain accession to GATT for the first time in 1989, when it was facing trade hassles with India. It is reported that the fifth commerce minister-level meeting to be held in Mexico this year is expected to endorse the country's admission to WTO. In 2002, the working group meeting for Nepal held in Geneva sounded positive on the country's admission to WTO.

It is heartening to note that during the 4th minister-level meeting held in Doha in 2001, India supported Nepal's entry into WTO. Similarly, the USA, Canada, China, Japan, Australia and European countries are also supportive of the country's entry into the world body. What is even more encouraging is that these countries want Nepal to be a representative of LDCs. It is indeed a matter of great pride for the country.

With Nepal being a member of WTO in the foreseeable future, the government and private sector must clearly put forward their views on facing the challenges that will certainly arise after joining WTO. For this, the country must first strengthen its trade regime internally. In this respect, suggestions from entrepreneurs are very important. Moreover, the government must restructure its trade policy and implement it sincerely. The bottom line is that if a country can confront keen competition from other countries, especially developed ones, and keep up its identity in the world market, it can reap benefits from WTO. Otherwise, it will land nowhere. Therefore, all concerned parties-- the government, private sector, civil society and labour organizations-- must brace themselves for the formidable challenges that will accompany accession to WTO.

Grace

It must be noted that once Nepal joins WTO, it will not have to fulfil all the conditions laid down by WTO. Rather, it will have some grace period for it to improve its trade regime. It may also get assistance from developed countries for this purpose.

Pearse, Not Wright Brothers!

By Ray Lilley

THE Wright Brothers get, but a little known New Zealand farmer and self-taught aviation pioneer deserves some recognition, too, his supporters say.

Monoplane

On March 31, 1903, Richard Pearse flew his bamboo monoplane over the lush pastures of his farm before crashing unceremoniously onto a hedge, family members and other witnesses said.
It was his first successful flight and came months before Orville Wright took to the air in the Wright Flyer over the North Carolina dunes near Kitty Hawk on Dec. 17 that year - a flight that landed Orville and his brother Wilbur in the history books.

The reason was the nature of the Wrights' flight. While several others are thought to have gotten machines off the ground first, the Wrights won acclaim because theirs was the "first powered,
sustained and controlled flight by an airplane," said Dick Knapinski, spokesman for the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Pearse himself conceded the honor to the Wrights, agreeing that none of his flights were fully controlled - most ended in the hedges around his farm that grew high because he was too busy working on his plane to trim them.

A self-taught aviator and inventor, "Bamboo" Pearse - he also built a bicycle out of bamboo - got his plane into the air at least five times before the Wrights, his enthusiasts say.

A nephew, Richard Pearse, 83, said his uncle "deserves all the recognition that's going."
"He got airborne before the Wright brothers," Pearse said from his home in Timaru, a city near his late uncle's property.

Pearse's backers are pushing for more recognition for his work.

The New Zealand division of the Royal Aeronautical Society has nominated him for the First Flight Hall of Fame at Kitty Hawk, but says that with only one inductee a year, the earliest Pearse may be considered is 2005.

"He should be in there," said the society's local vice president, Hugh McCarroll. "It will be appropriate recognition of his amazing work."

Pearse is getting notice this year from the Experimental Aircraft Association. He and other pioneer aviators will be featured before the U.S. group's planned flight of a Wright Flyer replica Dec. 17 at the sand dunes near Kitty Hawk, Knapinski said.

Although there is little physical evidence authenticating Pearse's flights, some of the plane's parts have survived and his devotees insist there is no doubt he took to the air before the Wrights.
At least 20 family members and other residents of the tiny rural settlement of Waitohi, near Timaru, reported witnessing the first flight of the aircraft, which was powered by an engine Pearse crafted on his forge.

Richard Pearse said his father, Warne, told of being among those present for that March 31 flight and for other flights. "My father used to help him, spinning the propeller to start the engine."

A local photographer reportedly took a picture of the plane stuck atop a hedge, but the photo was lost in a flood years later, said Jack Melhopt, chairman of the Timaru Aviation Heritage Center.
People told of watching Pearse's plane skim over paddocks, and in one case land in a dry riverbed, the overhead engine frightening a horse.

Amos Martin, a farm worker, recorded a flight on May 2, 1903. "It taxied 50 yards, rose 10 to 15 feet, flew 50 yards, then crashed into a hedge," he wrote in a letter. "I got on my bike and
hightailed off."

Treated as a crank by many of his neighbors and even some in his family, Pearse eventually ended up in a psychiatric hospital, where he died, unsung and alone, on July 29, 1953, at age 75.
"Pearse was very much a recluse. He was laughed at by the locals. They called him 'Mad Dick' and 'Bamboo Pearse,"' said the Timaru aviation center's secretary, Graham McCleary.

A lucky find of rusted parts from one of Pearse's homemade engines and a propeller in an old rubbish heap has been used to give his pioneer work new life. Three replica engines and two planes based on his earliest designs were built to mark the centennial of his first flight.

Enthusiasts plan to fly one of the replicas at the Waitohi farm Monday, but using a modern microlight engine to power the machine.

Working virtually alone, Pearse designed and built his light-bodied plane with rigid wings, ailerons, flaps and rudder, all of which were "movable from one control column by the pilot," said Geoff Rodliffe, a historian who wrote a book about Pearse.

Objective

Pearse's nephew said he had a firm objective with the early flights: flying the nine miles to the town of Temuka for shopping.

"But I can see that once he was in the air he had a few problems controlling it, so he didn't make the trip to Temuka and back as he intended," Richard Pearse said.

(AP)

Taste Of Passion Fruit

By Anantayatree Shreedhar Khanal

IT was in 1943 when I first tasted a passion fruit. It was available only in the garden of General Keshar Shamsher J.B. Rana. My father got a graft of that plant from the General and planted it in our garden. He spent his mornings and evenings nursing the plant with the utmost care. Digging, watering, and putting manure for its healthy growth were by father is everyday works. He was the proud owner of a new plant that nobody except General Keshar had in his garden. All the children including me were prevented from going into the garden and play near the plant site. My mother also was eagerly waiting for the new plant's maturity. She had never heard the name of the passion fruit. Now she was eager not only to see but also taste the rare fruit. So she watched the plant constantly in the absence of my father.

After two years, a mature passion fruit plant bore fruits. Not only my family members but also our next door neighbours gathered in the garden to see the strange fruit closely. It was a round fruit with thick purple skin. My parents allowed them to see the passion fruit only from a distance of five feet. The rumour of a strange new fruit in our garden was spread all over the neighbourhood. Many acquaintances of my father came to our house to ask him from where he had brought the wonderful fruit. My father told him the truth and added that the General had imported the plant from the Philippines.

A few months passed and the passion fruit ripened. Everyone in the family including the servants pined for it but nobody dared to ask my father for the same.

As I was pondering about the 'forbidden' fruit one evening, three of my cousins came to my room and said that they were going to steal the fruit that night. They were prepared to share the loot with me if I kept it a secret and accompanied them to the garden. I agreed with that proposal and we stealthily went into the garden at 9.00 p.m. We picked thirty fruits and ate two of them in the garden. The fruit was delicious. We shared seven fruits each and returned. My cousins went to their residences at ease. I put the fruits in my loin - cloth and quietly entered my house. As I reached the bottom of staircase, I heard my mother's cough. My parents' room was in the first storey. So I did not dare to climb the staircase and face my mother's scolding. I turned back and tried to get out of the house thinking to go to a cousin and pass the night there. As soon as I stepped across the threshold, lo and behold, My father was standing outside. My tight grip on the loin - cloth loasened and the stolen passion fruits were scattered all over the floor. Thus, in an attempt to save myself from my kind mother's scolding, I had fallen prey to my horrid father's rage.