Remember, a man died for this.  And that's really messed up.
We live in a country partly responsible for this crap.  How did This
happen and what can we do about it?
I realize this is a long read, but it's good to know what you oppose.
Plus it's propaganda, which is always fun.

July 20, 2001

Text of G8 Economic Statement

Genova, 20 July 2001

1. We, the Heads of State and Government of the G7 countries and the
Representatives of the European Union, met today in Genova to address
current challenges in world macroeconomic trends and to bolster efforts
aimed at promoting growth and stability, and at improving the efficiency
of the international financial system.

World Economy

2. While the global economy has slowed more than expected over the past
year, sound economic policies and fundamentals provide a solid
foundation for stronger growth. We will remain vigilant and forward
looking in implementing measures, as necessary, to ensure that our
economies move towards a more sustained pattern of growth, in line with
their potential. We pledge to pursue policies that will contribute to
global growth by enhancing strong productivity growth in a sound
macroeconomic environment, through structural reform, free trade and
strengthened international economic cooperation.

--In the United States, while growth has slowed sharply, long-term
trends remain favourable. Markets are dynamic and flexible, and both
monetary and fiscal policies are being actively employed to support
recovery, while maintaining price stability. The recently enacted tax
cuts should bolster growth.

--In Canada, tax cuts and monetary conditions are supporting growth
while structural policies should continue to be aimed at increasing
productivity. In the United Kingdom, where the slowdown appears
moderate, policies should continue to strengthen the foundations for
sustained growth and employment over the medium term, and meet the
inflation target.

--In the euro area, although economic activity has weakened, growth
prospects remain favourable. Tax cuts, as well as structural reforms
aimed at further increasing employment, should continue to support
sustainable non-inflationary growth. The steady implementation of
economic reforms will contribute, to further raising the potential for
growth.

--In Japan, economic activity has further weakened, and prices continue
to decline. Against this background, monetary policy should keep
providing ample liquidity. Vigorous implementation of financial and
corporate sector reforms is needed to lay the foundation for stronger
economic growth over the medium term. We welcome the recently announced
reform initiatives, which will contribute to this end.

3. Emerging market economies are unevenly affected by global economic
developments. Growth rates in some countries have slowed towards a more
sustainable rate, while in others they have decelerated sharply. We
welcome the progress achieved in many countries in increasing their
resilience against potential crises and the steps taken over the last
year to strengthen the international financial system to better prevent
crises. However, recent developments in emerging markets point to the
need for further progress in reinforcing domestic financial systems and
the underlying fiscal positions. Recent measures taken in Argentina and
Turkey represent positive steps in this direction. We commend these
efforts and encourage the continued implementation of their reform
programs in close collaboration with the IMF and other relevant
international financial institutions.

4. High and volatile oil prices are a concern for the world economy, in
particular for the most vulnerable developing countries. Increased and
diversified energy supplies, improved energy efficiency, expanded
infrastructure and stable oil markets are important objectives. Oil
producing and oil consuming countries should remain in close contact.

5. In addition to the policies we are pursuing in our own economies, we
agreed today that co-operation on three further elements is important to
a strengthened global economy:

--The launch of a new trade Round.

--Action to enhance the stability and integrity of the international
financial system.

--Actions to ensure that the poorest countries are not left behind,
including the implementation of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
(1-IIPC) Initiative.

Launching a New Trade Round

6. Sustained economic growth worldwide requires a renewed commitment to
free trade. Opening markets globally and strengthening the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) as the bedrock of the multilateral trading system is
therefore an economic imperative. It is for this reason that we pledge
today to engage personally and jointly in the launch of a new ambitious
Round of global trade negotiations at the Fourth WTO Ministerial
Conference in Doha, Qatar this November.

7. We are committed to working with developing countries, including the
least developed, to ensure that the new Round addresses their priorities
through improved market access and sounder, more transparent trade
rules. We recognise that there are legitimate concerns in implementing
the Uruguay Round Agreements. We welcome the steady progress made so far
on implementation issues and are ready to examine ways to make further
progress in connection with the launch of a new Round. Capacity building
is essential to integrate developing countries into the trading system,
and we are intensifying our efforts to assist in this area, including
with international institutions.

8. In the interests of all, the new Round should be based on a balanced
agenda, while clarifying, strengthening and extending multilateral
rules. An improved dispute settlement mechanism is central to this
effort. Increased transparency in the VETO itself is also important to
strengthen confidence in the global trading system. The WTO should
continue to respond to the legitimate expectations of civil society, and
ensure that the new Round supports sustainable development.

9. We recognise the importance of expanding WTO membership on meaningful
economic terms. We welcome the fact that negotiations with China are now
almost completed and that progress is being made towards Russia's
accession. We shall strongly support other applicants in their efforts
to meet the conditions for an early membership, with a view to making
the WTO a truly universal organisation.

Strengthening the International Financial System

10. Increasing global growth and prosperity depends crucially on a sound
and stable international financial system. We are united in our
determination to continue to strengthen it to prevent financial crises,
to limit the impact of those that inevitably do occur, and to tackle
financial abuses.

11. Since the Okinawa Summit a number of important steps have been
taken, including: measures to increase the effectiveness of crisis
prevention by reinforcing the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
surveillance and encouraging the implementation of the key international
codes and standards; involving the private sector in crisis prevention
and resolution; streamlining and reforming IMF lending facilities; and
enhancing IMF transparency and accountability. These efforts should be
maintained.

12. Looking forward, we endorse our Finance Ministers' recommendations
for action to further strengthen the international financial system and
their commitment to foster international consensus in this endeavour. In
particular, the international financial institutions and the G7
countries should stand ready to help countries adopt the policies
required to ensure sustained access j to capital markets. We also
support our Finance Ministers' suggestions to further develop the
framework for private sector involvement.

13. The Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have a central role to
play in combating poverty by promoting productivity growth and
supporting equitable and sustainable economic development, thus
contributing to the achievement of the 2015 International Development
Goals. To this end, we welcome and endorse our Finance Ministers'
recommendations for reforming the MDBs and sharpening their focus on
core social and human investments, in particular health and education.
We encourage the MDBs to continue to evaluate their internal structure
in order to enhance their operational effectiveness. We attach
particular importance to:

--strengthening coordination among MDBs;

--enhancing their internal governance, accountability and transparency;

--reviewing their pricing policies with a view to enhancing the
development impact of the resources available;

--promoting good governance in borrowing countries.

We call on MDBs to provide support for global public goods, such as
fighting infectious diseases, facilitating trade, fostering financial
stability and protecting the environment. We support a meaningful
replenishment of IDA and, in that context, we will explore the increased
use of grants for priority social investments, such as education and
health.

14. We reaffirm our support for the multilateral effort against abuses
of the global financial system and endorse our Finance Ministers'
recommendations to address this challenge. We welcome the efforts
several jurisdictions are making to address weaknesses in their anti
money laundering regimes. We endorse the recent Financial Action Task
Force decisions de-listing four jurisdictions and recommending the
adoption of additional countermeasures against the most uncooperative
ones if they do not take appropriate action by September 30, 2001. The
International Financial Institutions have an important role in helping
jurisdictions improve their anti money laundering regimes and we urge
them to step up their efforts in this regard. We encourage progress in
assessing adherence to supervisory and regulatory standards in Offshore
Financial Centres. We look forward to the 2001 OECD progress report on
harmful tax practices and support the work, as envisaged by our Finance
Ministers, aimed at addressing such practices. We ask our Finance
Ministers for further work in these areas.

HIPC

15. The Enhanced HIPC Initiative we launched in Cologne aims to increase
growth, reduce poverty and provide a lasting exit from unsustainable
debt, by reducing debt on the basis of strengthened policy reforms. We
welcome the important progress that has been achieved in implementing
the Initiative. At Okinawa nine countries had qualified for debt relief.
Now, twenty-three countries (Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,
Chad, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Madagascar,
Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome
and Principe, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) are benefiting from
the Initiative, with an overall amount of debt relief of over $53
billion, out of an initial stock of debt of $74 billion. This will
significantly reduce their debt service, thus freeing resources for
social sector expenditure, in particular education and health.

16. We have all agreed as a minimum to provide 100% debt reduction of
official development assistance (ODA) and eligible commercial claims for
qualifying HIPC countries. W e urge those countries that have not
already done so to take similar steps, and we underline the need for the
active and full participation of all bilateral creditors in providing
timely debt relief to WPCs.

17. We encourage WPCs that have not yet reached their decision point to
quickly undertake the necessary economic and social reforms, including
the development of a strategy for overall poverty reduction in
co-operation with the World Bank and the IMF. Economic, structural, and
social reforms, improved governance, and a strengthened ability to track
poverty-reducing expenditures are necessary to ensure the maximum
benefit of debt relief. In particular, we call upon those countries
involved in military conflicts to lay down their arms, and implement the
necessary reforms. We confirm our willingness to help them take measures
needed to come forward to debt relief We pledge to continue working
together to ensure that the benefits of debt relief are targeted to
assist the poor and most vulnerable.

Nuclear Safety

18. We welcome Ukraine's permanent closure of the Chernobyl Nuclear
Power Plant on 15 December 2000, which was a vital accomplishment in
support of nuclear safety.


[care of the NewYork Times, and yes, i read my indymedia too]