The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Thursday said that the current Doha development round of negotiations regarding world trade, were anti-developmental, would remove policy space for poor countries to integrate into world trade, and would result in job losses.

"Cosatu notes with dismay the commitment of the recent Group of Eight (G8) summit to conclude the Doha round of world trade negotiations in 2010 without addressing the concerns of developing countries," stated the organisation in a statement.

At the G8 summit in Italy, the top eight industrialised countries, and the top five emerging economies called for progress on the stalled Doha trade talks, with agreement possible on concluding them by 2010. The Doha talks began in 2001 to help poor countries prosper, but were caught up with disagreements on proposed tariff and subsidy cuts.

Cosatu did, however, commend South Africa's Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, on "standing firm against the anti-developmental character of the negotiations".

Davies had previously stated that South Africa would not undertake disproportionate industrial-tariff cuts, which would undermine the country's industrial policy and employment-creation objectives, under the Doha round.

South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry has also said that it would not rush into a deal at the Doha negotiations that would not be fair for developing nations.

Cosatu argued that the Doha round should only be concluded if a number conditions were complied with.

These included: policy space for developing countries to use tariffs to protect industries and as a source of revenue; reductions in tariffs for developing countries that must be lower than reductions by rich countries, in accordance with the less than full reciprocity principle; poor countries must be granted more flexibility to exempt certain sensitive products and sectors - based on their export earning potential and labour intensity - from tariff reductions, and domestic subsidies must be strictly regulated and there must be easy safeguard measures, such as import quotas to stop subsidised imports, as tariffs are often not effective in deterring subsidised imports.

The congress also stressed that governments should retain their rights to regulate the services sector, including public services, and should voluntarily open up their markets based on their economic and financial needs. Furthermore, countries should be allowed to revise their General Agreement on Trade in Services commitments on financial services to re-regulate the banking sector, in particular the use of speculative investments such as hedge funds and derivates, as per the London G20 commitments.

Cosatu also said that South Africa must be given more flexibility to shield sensitive tariff lines because of its trade relations with Southern African Customs Union, and cotton produces in West Africa should be given duty-free quotas to facilitate free access to developed countries' markets. Subsidies on cotton by rich countries should immediately be eliminated, added Cosatu.

The trade union federation also called for longer periods for implementation of tariff reduction commitments for developing countries, and said that developing countries should be able to select certain products as sensitive products and have them exempted from tariff cuts because of their labour intensity and importance as staple food.