SFUMUN 2012

National Interests Vary on Economic Issues, With a Resulting loss in International Cooperation

Charles Arthur, The New York Times

In the midst of the credit crunch, recession, and record high deficits, the World trade Organization, and the United Nations General Assembly have heatedly debated the passing of resolutions concerning MNC regulation, economic protectionism, debt relief, and interest rate caps. Almost all nations present find themselves in some form of financial difficulty, and at odds with the interests of other nations.

What has emerged from the UN summit is a definite difference in goals between poorer countries and wealthy ones whose respective economic woes differ drastically. In an earlier press conference the delegate from Brazil to the WTO stated that the issue of MNC regulation had been temporarily tabled due to insurmountable disagreement between developing nations and developed ones. In the General Assembly the interest rate cap of 15% faced serious opposition from major banking countries such as the UAE the United States. The delegate from the United kingdom repeatedly worked to find an ideal interest rate for the cap that would lead to the quickest instance of repayment of debts owed to the United Kingdom while the Haitian delegate to the GA made multiple arguments in favor of a clause in the resolution that called for complete debt relief in the case of “extenuating circumstances”.

With economic troubles weighing down on nearly every representative at this summit, the spirit of international cooperation seems to be lacking.