DEVELOPING countries will face devastating economic consequences if the European Union (EU) manages to successfully push three new agreements on investment, competition and government procurement to be adopted in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), according to Third World Network executive director Martin Khor.
The new agreements have a common theme: they are an attempt to maximise the rights of foreign enterprises to have market access to developing countries through their products and investments, to reduce to a minimum the rights of host governments to regulate foreign investors and to prohibit governments from giving concession projects to support or encourage local enterprises.