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Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
ILLEGAL sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West have negatively affected the country’s trading capacity and inclusion in global trade, Deputy Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Sheillah Chikomo told the ongoing World Trade Organisation 13th Ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
She called on the WTO to speak against the continued existence of the sanctions that created an uneven field in international trade. The Ministerial Conference is the highest decision-making body in the rules-based multilateral trade agenda and is attended by ministers responsible for trade.
“Development remains at the core for African States at the WTO. Zimbabwe is advancing the call for a fair and equitable global trading system, particularly with regards to investment facilitation for development, policy space for industrial development, and market access in agriculture, domestic support and public stockholding.
“The continued imposition of unilateral coercive measures against targeted developing countries negatively affects trade capacity and inclusion in global trade. Zimbabwe is taking this opportunity to call on some WTO members to desist from applying these unilateral coercive measures and level the playing field in the international trade arena,” she said.
Deputy Minister Chikomo said as part of safeguarding its interests, Zimbabwe negotiated as part of like-minded groups of WTO members on geopolitical, trade and economic interests and these included the African Group, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, the Group of 90 on Development, the Group of 33 on Agriculture, and the Landlocked Developing Countries Group.
“The gravity model and recent disaggregated data on sanctions from 1960 to 2009 demonstrate that imposed sanctions result in reduced trade between an exporting country and its target market.
“This effect is observed across sectors, including food, energy and medicinal products and access to the sea, and is consistent regardless of the type of sanctions used.
“Historical analysis reveals that many threats of sanctions have been followed through, and in recent times, there has been a surge in political tensions between states leading to an increase in sanctions being imposed, subsequently impacting trade flows,” she said.
Zimbabwe’s economy has lost over US$40 billion since the sanctions were imposed by the West over 20 years ago in response to the country’s land reform to correct land ownership that saw a tiny minority control almost half the farm land.
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