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During the 2005
Group of Eight summit, the United Kingdom-based anti-poverty
group Christian Aid commissioned a massive mural in downtown
Edinburgh, Scotland, that captures the David-and-Goliath
inequalities built into our global trading system. Imagine a
boxing ring in which a scrawny African boxer fights with one
hand tied behind his back while a gigantic American boxer
advances toward him. In the crowded stadium, men in fine
business suits cheer for the American, holding up signs
representing powerful multinational corporations, while the
African boxer is supported by a smaller crowd of civil society
organizers. Which boxer are you cheering for?
Impoverished
countries in sub-Sahara Africa are $272 billion poorer because
of "free trade" policies forced on them as a condition for
receiving aid and debt relief, according to a 2005 report by
Christian Aid. This lost income could have been used to wipe out
all of Africa's
debt and allow its children to be vaccinated and
educated. Poor countries throughout the world face similar
conditions.
There is a
heated debate about what changes are needed in the global
trading system to ensure that trade benefits everyone,
particularly the most impoverished. Our trade structures are
broken and need radical restructuring; the playing field has
been rigged in favor of wealthy countries for so long that new
rules must be created to allow poorer nations to compete as
equal partners. Currently, donor countries and international
lenders, such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund,
impose detailed conditions—such as privatizing water or
electrical systems—onto countries as a condition for receiving
aid or loans. Countries must be allowed more freedom to choose
their own development strategies; they shouldn't have to forgo
the care of their own citizens to satisfy the demands of
wealthier countries.
The trade
justice movement in the United Kingdom offers a sign of hope.
More than 80 organizations and 9 million members representing
trade unions, aid agencies, environmental and human rights
groups, fair trade organizations, and faith and consumer groups
have pushed for trade rules that benefit poor people and the
environment. Last November, campaigners lobbied 375 ministers of
parliament in a single day—the largest lobby of parliament in
modern history. More than 8,000 people demanded that, in
approaching world trade talks, the British government and its
European Union partners stop pushing poor countries to open
their markets.
The United
States is far from achieving this level of awareness and
mobilization, but the United Kingdom shows it is possible. There
is something each of us can do. Purchasing fair trade certified
products, such as coffee, tea, and crafts, creates a ripple
effect in the market. We also must use our voices and votes to
push for structural changes to global trade rules.
Sojourners/Call to Renewal's Covenant for a New America campaign
aims in part to push Congress and the president to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals. Without radical reforms to the
global trading system, these goals will join a graveyard of
broken promises—and millions will continue to suffer as a
result. This year Congress will be reauthorizing the Farm Bill,
which is another portal to helping establish trade justice here
and abroad.
Following Jesus
means to "treat the people's needs as holy," writes Obery
Hendricks in The Politics of Jesus. Imagine if this
became the standard by which we evaluate every trade policy and
practice.
Adam
Russell Taylor is senior director of campaigns and organizing at
Sojourners/Call to Renewal. Learn more about the Covenant at
www.covenantforanew-america.org and
the farm bill at
www.bread.org.
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