Join a global movement calling for an end to unfair trade rules – more than 20 million people have signed the petition so far. Make Trade Fair is a campaign by Oxfam International and its 13 affiliates, calling on governments, institutions, and multinational companies to change the rules so that trade can become part of the solution to poverty, not part of the problem. We know that real change will only come when large numbers of people demand it - in rich countries as well as poor. Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) failed to finalize a “pro-development” deal on new trade rules at the Hong Kong Ministerial in December 2005, and have made very little progress since then. Rich countries continue to betray their promises, keeping their own harmful agricultural systems intact while stopping poor countries from deciding their own policies to ensure food security and livelihoods and build up fledgling industries. So while developing countries continue to fend off this assault, it is unclear whether any big decisions on new rules will be re-negotiated in 2007. Meanwhile, a host of Regional and Bilateral free trade agreements, that go way beyond what is demanded at the WTO, pose a new threat to development in poor countries. Please join our efforts to pressure rich countries to offer a fair deal that would help millions of the world’s poorest farmers and workers earn a decent living. Latest news28 April 2008World leaders at a UN meeting in Switzerland must go beyond immediate aid to address the root causes of the global food price crisis, said international agency Oxfam today.
"Aid is urgently needed to address the immediate threat to poor people posed by higher food prices but money is not enough. World leaders must take this opportunity to address structural problems such as under-investment in agriculture and unfair trade rules, which are exacerbating the problem," said Celine Charveriat, Oxfam International's Deputy Advocacy Director.
21 April 2008The EU will do irrevocable damage to the development prospects of some of the poorest countries in the world unless it overhauls free trade deals due to be finalized this year, said Oxfam in a report published today. In Partnership or Powerplay?, released at the twelfth UN Conference on Trade and Development in Ghana, Oxfam presents the first comprehensive analysis of the proposed texts. It concludes that, if finalized, these Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) would hurt poor people and undermine development across Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP).
09 January 2008Oxfam is disappointed that the EU has succeeded in pressuring so many African, Caribbean and Pacific countries to initial free trade deals, which we fear may have negative implications for development in some of the world's poorest countries. Looking into 2008, Oxfam believes it is important for countries that have initialed interim deals to be given the chance to renegotiate problematic clauses.
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Article from Oxfam International:
http://www.oxfam.org/en/programs/campaigns/maketradefair/index.htm
Published:
24
November
2005
