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Trade campaign summary
Free trade agreements are evil and must be stopped
Lebohang Phekuo. Gender and Trade Network for Africa
Trade takes place on a number of levels whether it is goods you buy, services you use or the direct exchange of money. In the era of globalisation the search for profit has gone global.
Trade has the potential to, lift millions out of poverty. But the current rules of trade are biased in favour of big business at the expense of the world’s poor.
WDM is calling on the European to adopt trade policies that put people before profits.
The problem The European Union is currently negotiating trade deals with half the countries around the world. These deals will benefit big business at the expense of the billion people living in poverty.
In 2006, European officials and big European companies cooked up a new strategy in the quest to become the world’s biggest trading power. It includes a hit list of developing countries to target for new trade deals - countries where more than 920 million people live in poverty.
But history shows that these kinds of trade deals make companies richer without benefiting the poor. For example, in Mexico a trade deal led to two million people leaving their land as the price for maize collapsed - whilst Corporate giants reaped the profits.
Solution World Development Movement is calling for these trade deals to be stopped and is campaigning for Europe to adopt a trade agenda that puts people before profits.
It is possible to trade in a way that benefits the poor. Such a system would:
- Work in the interests of people and the environment
- Let developing countries choose their own development policies
- Not be dominated by European corporate interests
- Be transparent, democratic and truly representative
- Prioritise regional trade between countries at similar levels of development
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