Fair trade, please!

When the US gives its surplus corn to Africa, farmers in Zambia stop growing corn. Photo: Jan Kjær.

AHHH, LIFE IN THE TROPICS… Imagine if you, in your own backyard, could pick bananas straight from the banana-plant, corn from the cob, and milk a cow for fresh milk every morning.

Big city stress would be long forgotten. You’d live off what you grow. Any surplus you could sell at the local market and make an extra buck. You definitely wouldn’t become a millionaire, but you’d have enough to provide for yourself, your wife, and your 5 kids.

What a life that would be! Up until the day when the merchant at the market tells you that he can no longer be bothered to buy your goods. His customers have been complaining about the price. In fact, it is cheaper to buy milk powder or imported corn from the USA.

These are the consequences of political decisions made in a completely different reality.

Agricultural subsidies are preposterous In the European Union (EU), every cow receives the equivalent of 2 USD a day in agricultural subsidies. Almost 3 billion people live on less. The poorest people in the world each receive less than 50 cents a day in development aid.

The rich countries subsidize their own agriculture with 350 billion USD a year. For the developing countries, this means that thousands of jobs and 23 billion USD in export revenues are lost every year.

When the USA gives corn from its surplus stock to Africa, farmers in Zambia stop growing corn, as they are unable to sell this crop with a profit. The EU agricultural subsidies cost the average Danish family 1,700 USD a year because of higher prices, and this is not counting the taxes we pay to the EU.

There are many ways of saying the same thing, but it all boils down to this: It is sheer madness.

Both trade and development aid are necessary

If agricultural subsidies in the world were cut by half, we would have 107 billion USD more at our disposal, 80 percent of which would go to the already rich countries.

It was once popular to say: Trade – Not Aid. We don’t say this any longer. Trade may bring about growth and development, but it is far from all countries that are in a position to take advantage of market possibilities, and it is far from all groups in society that stand to gain from increased trade.

Trade alone does not lead to sustainable and socially balanced development. This is why we now say: More trade – and more aid.

But trade and aid are just two means by which to  promote development. In the Monterrey Declaration of 2002 it was agreed upon that a more diversified effort is needed and that all countries – rich and poor – have a joint responsibility to find resources to help promote development, and to build up good, democratic, and effective leadership at all levels.

MS, the Danish Association for International Cooperation, believes that fairer trade conditions can be achieved through binding international rules and agreements. MS does not believe in unregulated free trade, where only the strongest survive.

We need binding international rules that respect the right of every country to define its own development strategy. This is why MS’ work on trade takes place at all levels. We must continue to help local farmers and small-scale producers improve and increase their production.

We must continue to encourage the producers to become unionized. We must continue to help our partners become self-sufficient and better at marketing. And we must increasingly help boost their self-confidence and their ability to put pressure on the authorities.

MS is also trying to influence the negotiations that take place in WTO, the World Trade

Organization. Through educational work, through the Trade Robbery Campaign, and by lobbying politicians and other decision-makers in Denmark and the EU, we are trying to find popular and political support that may benefit the developing world.

At the same time, we lend support to our partners, so that they may do the same in their countries. We are strengthening our network and exchange programs in the South and between the South and the North.

Focus on agricultural subsidies

One important aspect of the work MS is doing is to inform. Words lead to knowledge; knowledge is a tool with which one can bring about change. This is why we, in 2004, intensified our documentation of unfair international trade conditions.

In October, we brought out a special issue of the periodical ‘FOCUS Kontakt’ on the EU agricultural subsidies. In November, an updated edition of the book ‘The Global Marketplace’ came out – one of the most popular books of recent years on WTO, the World Trade Organization.

Finally, in December we released a DVD containing 5 documentaries by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation that all dealt with the price developing countries must pay as a result of the EU agricultural subsidies.

Dilemma Game on the Internet

Global Island is a democracy and dilemma game on the Internet, where students debate and compete in solving global problems. MS has developed the game, and until now, some 6,000 students from more than 20 countries have participated.

In 2004, 400 Danish students from various senior high school programs debated whether there should be an open market for all agricultural goods in the rich countries, and whether the poor countries should be allowed to protect their domestic markets against processed foods.

2000 students from high schools and vocational schools debated the possibility of a free market without agricultural subsidies. In return, immigration from poor to rich countries, resulting in unemployment among farmers in the rich countries, would cease. This project is an example of a cooperative effort between MS, UNDP’s Nordic Office, and the UN offices of Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

Members of the MS trade group wearing glasses that represent Lomborg's narrow-minded cost-benefit analyses. Photo: Jan Kjær.

The Trade Group faces new Challenges

2004 was a busy year for the MS Trade Group, and the challenges that it will be facing in 2005 do not appear to be any less exciting. The group will be participating in Global Week, a global trade campaign, which will take place in April 2005 and which will be the starting signal for world focus on the very important WTO negotiations that will take place in Hong Kong in December 2005.

In 2004, a busy year in many ways, the trade group gave 42 presentations at high schools, folk high schools, etc. across Denmark. As usual, the group also conducted a few seminars, and was during the fall able to welcome Filipino environmentalist Nicanor Perlas, a 2003 recipient of the Right Livelihood Award.

Lomborg’s ideas not sustainable

The spring of 2004 saw controversial environmental scientist Bjørn Lomborg’s attempt to rank and prioritize the world’s greatest environmental challenges at the Copenhagen Consensus Conference.

Several Danish NGOs - MS included - did not find that Lomborg’s approach, based solely on cost-benefit analyses, contained any sustainable solutions to the problems. Hence, the trade group represented MS at an alternative conference titled Global Responsibility.

A number of international speakers participated, and the conference was opened by Per Stig Møller, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs. The group also spoke about the Danish plans during the international activity week in April 2005. It participated in several seminars across Europe, and gathered inspiration from the other participating countries.

Last, but not least, the trade group has two movies about to be released. One is a cartoon by Jannik Hastrup, the creator of Danish hit cartoon Cirkeline; the other is a documentary for educational purposes about the EU’s and the US agricultural subsidies and the consequences hereof for the cotton production in Burkina Faso.

Central America: Trade at the top of the agenda

These are the times when many of the economic ground rules, which will have a serious impact on Central America for a long time to come, are being laid out. During the first 6 months of 2005, the national parliaments will debate the Free Trade agreement (DR-CAFTA) between the USA, Central America, and the Dominican Republic.

This is why MS-Central America has put trade on the top of the agenda, especially with regards to small-scale farmers and cooperatives. Small farms play a central role in rural economy. They are independent, economic participants that create jobs locally, and revenue generally stays within the circuit of the local economy.

Focus on Advocacy

MS-Central America has in recent years focused on advocacy in their partnership with Central American organizations. There is no reason to help improve cultivation methods or administrative skills if farmers are disadvantaged by the overall ground rules, as is the case with American and European agricultural subsidies, which serve to create further imbalance in the already unfair competition.

In this context, advocacy is not about MS telling decision-makers in the region what is good and what is bad. The purpose is rather to strengthen the competencies of local organizations, which will enable them to influence policy, which in turn affects the interests of the small-scale farmers.

The structures that affect small-scale farmers today are abstract in a two-fold way: In respect to where decisions are taken, and with respect to the system of terminology and mechanisms employed. This is why MS-Central America has worked extensively to build alliances and exchange experiences with various participants in the region and across borders.

MS-Central America works with NGOs to combine participation and representation with analytical skills. This is a pre-requisite for developing and presenting alternative suggestions to the decision-makers.

Strengthening communication

During the DR-CAFTA negotiations, MS-Central America worked to strengthen communication between partners across the region. This was done partly to strengthen awareness of the fact that the countries face the same challenges, and partly inorder to share experiences.

Importantly, MS-Central America has, because of its partners, strengthened its own competencies and has become an active participant in the debate, both in Central America and in Denmark.

In 2006, the EU begins negotiations on a free trade agreement with the countries in Central America. There is no reason to believe that the European negotiators would be satisfied with anything less than what is stipulated in the free trade agreement between the USA and the countries in Central America.

This is why it is important that MS in Central America and in Denmark, together with our partners and other Danish and European organizations, work to ensure that the interests of the weakest are not given a lower priority than commercial interests.