Free trade and development

In a move rich in symbolism, the 10th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development is being held in Bangkok, Thailand -- the country where Asia's financial crisis started in July 1997. On the eve of the conference, Bangkok announced it was ready to leave the bailout program put together in 1997 by the International Monetary Fund. From Thailand to South Korea, Asia is recovering. The question is whether the global forces that led to Asia's crisis won't recur. Another question is whether Thailand and the rest of the developing world, including the Philippines, can ever catch up as globalization widens the gap between the world's rich and poor.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan sounded an optimistic note, saying information technology has given more poor people access to knowledge once reserved only for the rich. He added that global trade has spurred growth in the developing world. Even Annan, however, admitted that there has to be a more equitable distribution of the benefits of globalization. And much of the developing world is being left far behind in the high-tech revolution.

Those against the adverse effects of free trade are again making their presence felt at UNCTAD. This major conference on global trade comes on the heels of the World Trade Organization's summit in Seattle last December and the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The IMF's outgoing chief Michel Camdessus got a cream-and-fruit pie in the face yesterday, courtesy of an American visitor from Washington, DC. Protesters staged a rally in front of the convention center where the conference of about 190 nations was on its second day.

Dramatic expressions of protest, however, won't roll back the forces of free trade, which are being pushed to new heights by e-commerce. In these fast-paced developments, a large part of the world is being left behind. UNCTAD, whose aim is to make trade a tool of development, wants more investments from the rich countries to allow the developing world to catch up -- investments with a bit more roots than the type that can be pulled out at the click of a mouse. International trade rules will also have to be reviewed. Free trade can be a force for good, but it needs a lot of work.