THE TRANSFER OF WEALTH FROM THE SOUTH TO THE NORTH/105educated workforce. In 1987 alone, it lost 17 per cent of Its doctors
and dentists, 20 per cent of Its university teaching staff, 30 per cent
of Its engineers and 45 per cent of Its land surveyors. All these pro
fessionals went North (UNDP, 1992). A large number of scientists
from the former Eastern Bloc have gone to the US since the beginning
of the 1990s.
Losses Sustained by the South Due to Protectionism in the
North: Protectionism in the North Against Products From
the South
The capitalist governments of the North Impose restrictions on the
flow of goods by using tariff (duty) and non-tariff (quotas and
regulations on standards and quality) barriers. According to the
UNDP (UNDP, 1992, 1993, 1994), such restrictions cost the South
at least S40 billion every year, of which S 3 5 billion stem from restric
tions on manufactured Items (S24 billion due to the Multlflbre
Agreement) and S5 billion on primary goods (UNDP, 1992).
Concerning the Multlflbre Agreement, by 1987 almost half of
developing country textile exports were subject to restrictions, of
which 70 per cent were mandatory (UNDP, 1992).
As for farm products, the European Union (through the Common
Agricultural Policy), the US and Japan subsidise agricultural
production. This means farm product Imports from the South are less
attractive. The EU and US have become net exporters of farm products
to the rest of the world. Their subsidies to the agricultural sector
(largely to agrobusiness) make their products more affordable In the
South's markets than some locally produced Items (Hintjens, 1994).
As for manufactured products, 20 of the world's 24 most Industri
alised countries are globally more protectionist than they were at the
beginning of the 1980s. This protectionism largely concerns
products from developing countries. According to an UNCTAD study,
the average real rate of protection Is twice as high for developing
countries as for Industrialised countries. According to the World
Bank, this loss In potential goods and services exports costs
developing countries 3 per cent of their GNP, or an annual loss of S 75
billion (UNDP, 1992).
At the end of 1990, GATT member countries agreed on 284
arrangements limiting exports, many of which concerned products
exported by the Third World: agricultural products (59 arrange-