Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
industries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean (see
Chapter 3.3), but it has also increased unemployment, reduced real
wages and removed domestic food subsidies. Contrary to Brandt's
vision, the version of trade liberalization adopted by the WTO has
largely accrued benefits to MNCs and the richer countries of the global
North. A recent report from War on Want (2009) provides detailed evi-
dence on the significant job losses experienced by the majority of the
countries in the global South following thirty years of free market
enterprise and trade liberalization. By directing the rules of interna-
tional trade towards the needs of more powerful nations, many NGOs
argue that both the 'rules' and the 'playing field' are inherently unfair
for countries in the global South - a belief that has fuelled
anti-globalization protests over the last decade.
Empowering Producers in the Global South:
'Fair Trade not Aid'
The free trade ideology promotes the import and export of goods with-
out any barriers, but the extent to which international trade is actually
'free' or unfettered is a highly contentious topic. In reality, higher
income countries are often reluctant to open up their markets to
imports or reduce subsidies on products where low-income countries
have an advantage (Stiglitz and Charlton, 2005). Recently, the
European Union has been negotiating Economic Partnerships
Agreements (EPAs) with 76 former colonies in Africa, the Caribbean
and the Pacific (ACPs) in order to promote greater market access to
new and existing markets in the global South. In the past, the EU has
been strongly criticized for maintaining preferential historical agree-
ments with ACP countries, a situation that led to the long and bitter
'banana wars' between Europe and the US over the export of non-ACP
bananas to Europe. EPAs will allow the EU to maintain preferential
trading agreements but they will require Southern nations to recipro-
cate by fully opening their markets to EU exports. Critics like Action
Aid argue that EPAs will continue to exacerbate poverty in poorer coun-
tries as they will be forced to open up their markets to floods of cheap
manufactured imports, subsidized agricultural products and further
economic domination by global business.
Research on global commodity chains in products like coffee (Bacon,
2005) has highlighted the exploitation of small farmers by large MNCs,
who frequently undercut prices in a 'race to the bottom' (see Chapter 3.1).
154
