Canada has long undermined impoverished countries’ bid to draw greater benefits from their commodities. Ottawa’s opposition to Indonesia’s move to add value to its nickel and rejection of its call for a producers’ partnership is a recent example.
Canada is a third-party supporter of a European Union lead suit against Indonesia at the World Trade Organization (WTO). They challenged Jakarta’s restriction on exports of unprocessed nickel and bauxite. Indonesia is appealing a WTO ruling that found its measures to be inconsistent with the body’s prohibition of export restrictions and bans.
Irrespective of WTO rules, the world’s largest nickel producer has generated huge benefits from the move. In short order the value-added benefits Indonesia garnered from the commodity rose 20-fold from US$1.1 billion to $20.8 billion.
Last year Indonesia raised a nickel producers’ partnership with Ottawa. As the world’s sixth biggest producer, Canada could benefit from stabilizing and boosting the price of the commodity. But Ottawa rejected the proposal out of hand. “We are not looking at that particular model in the way that they have proposed,” industry minister Mary Ng told the Financial Post in an article they headlined “Global nickel cartel off the table as Canada’s trade minister rebuffs Indonesia’s approach”.
Canada could benefit from higher nickel prices, but it isn’t interested in even exploring the matter due to the country’s position towards the apex of global capitalism and extractivism. Historically, this country has supported wealthy nations at the WTO, IMF and similar forums while repeatedly opposing the formation of producers’ agreements designed to help poorer commodity dependent nations reverse the deeply unequal terms of global trade. (more...)
Alpha dog of capitalist extractivism Canada pushes status quo
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