TheG90, otherwise known as theGroup of 90, is an alliance between the poorest and smallest developing countries, many of whom are part of theWorld Trade Organization (WTO). The G90 emerged as a strong grouping at the WTO’s Ministerial conference at Cancun in September 2003, taking common positions representing the largest number of countries,[1] with 64 of the 90 countries in the G90 being members of the WTO. It is the largest trading body in the WTO, and it was formed as an umbrella body including theAfrican, Caribbean and Pacific Group (ACP), theAfrican Union, and the group ofLeast Developed Countries (LDC).
The driving force for the formation of the G90 was the lack of economic power faced by poor and small nations to enact resolutions in trade disputes, as envisioned by the WTO. G90 nations, unable to enforce or afford countervailing measures, or compete with the subsidized economies of wealthier nations, formed the trade block in order to ensure a collective voice on issues of importance to landlocked and island economies, less developed countries, and commodity-dependent nations. Primarily, they want preferential domestic subsidies by theEuropean Union and theUnited States to be removed in order to allow G90 products greater access to foreign markets.[citation needed]
Together with theG20 and theG33, the G90 aims to counterbalance the power of the United States and European economies in directing global trade, particularly with respect to negotiations over agricultural goods, upon which most of the G90 economies depend.[citation needed]
