Making trade work for the poor

Last month OXFAM launched an international campaign to Make Trade Fair. World Vision New Zealand fully supports their campaign and urges you to get behind it. Read up on fair trade on their excellent website at www.maketradefair.org, and add your voice to 'The Big Noise'.

What's fair trade all about? It's about making sure that international trade benefits the poor as well as the rich. At the moment wealthy nations shape trade rules for their own benefit through the WTO, where the voices of developing nations are seldom heard.

Developing countries' products are shut out of some of the wealthiest markets in the world, rich countries 'dump' their excess goods in developing countries at prices that undermine local producers. The result is poor wages, unemployment, and poverty.

Oxfam estimates that if Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and Latin America were each to increase their share of world exports by just one per cent, the resulting gains in income could lift 128 million people out of poverty.

At 3.30pm on Wednesday, June 19 there will be a huge Mexican wave of noise as "Speak Out For Trade Justice" is shouted out along the length of a giant gathering of people stretching past the House of Commons and along the banks of the River Thames. It's predicted to be the biggest ever mass lobby on the UK Parliament, organised by the Trade Justice Movement.

Why? To make sure that fair trade is on top of the agenda for a series of up-coming events, starting with the European Union Heads of State Summit: on 21-22 June in Spain, and the G8 Summit: on 26-27 June in Canada.

Perhaps like me, you're stuck on a little Island in the South Pacific and can't be in London - but you can have your say by adding your voice to OXFAM's Make Trade Fair campaign.

OXFAM New Zealand
Like World Vision, OXFAM are an international aid and development organisation dedicated to fighting poverty and injustice
www.oxfam.org.nz

Other resources on Fair Trade

Trade for Development: Making the WTO work for the poor

This balanced and readable World Vision report discusses how trade rules can be used to ensure trade benefits the poor
Brett Paris, World Vision International

Why Children Go Hungry
A World Vision report on international trade in agricultural produce keeps food out of the hands of those who need it most, and recommends solutions.
Wendy Phillips, World Vision Canada