Thursday, August 19, 2004
Free Trade = Fair Trade?
"What's so special about agriculture? Subsidies were vital to cure the postwar food shortage but that was long ago. Their main function now is to prevent developing countries from exploiting one of the few activities where they have a natural advantage.
It is difficult to think of a single rational argument why US taxpayers should shell out $3bn to bribe farmers to grow cotton, a subsidy of 100% of the value of output.
As a result the US has captured 40% of the world cotton market, depriving labour-intensive developing countries of countless jobs.
Europe is worse. Oxfam claims the EU, scandalously, spends 3.3 euros for every euro of exports of sugar beet..."
( Guardian, 21 June)
KickAAS (Kick All Agricultural Subsidies)
It is difficult to think of a single rational argument why US taxpayers should shell out $3bn to bribe farmers to grow cotton, a subsidy of 100% of the value of output.
As a result the US has captured 40% of the world cotton market, depriving labour-intensive developing countries of countless jobs.
Europe is worse. Oxfam claims the EU, scandalously, spends 3.3 euros for every euro of exports of sugar beet..."
( Guardian, 21 June)
"... under the rigged rules of international trade, North America and the European Union still protect their markets against developing-country exports, thereby reducing the industry’s contribution to poverty alleviation. A restrictive system of Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) import quotas, combined with high tariffs, has hurt economies in the developing world, costing them an estimated 27 million jobs and $40 billion each year in lost exports....... "
(Oxfam, May 2004)
KickAAS (Kick All Agricultural Subsidies)
