Southern Alternatives on Trade and Development
Comhlámh – TRANSCEND Media Service
Tired of being told there’s no other way? There ARE alternatives! New Comhlámh Report.
In spite of the global crises, the EU insists that free trade and deregulation is the only way for economies to develop, and is pushing this damaging economic approach on its poor trading partners. This is despite of the fact that free trade has weakened the economy of many developing countries, and led to job losses, food insecurity, reduction of local industry and environmental degradation.
The good news is that people, movements and governments across the Global South think and act differently. Our new policy report “Southern Alternatives to EU Trade Policy”, published by Comhlámh, WEED, and AITEC, presents the views of 8 activists and thinkers from the Global South, from the Philippines to Colombia, Zimbabwe to India in a series of 8 individual papers. Each paper details a vision of an alternative European trade policy, based on principles of sustainability, democracy, flexibility, human rights, transparency and poverty eradication.
It’s time for the EU to STOP and LISTEN to alternative proposals from governments and civil society in the Global South and to re-think EU trade policy.
The Report
The report focuses on alternative proposals on natural resources in 5 areas among the 8 papers: regional integration, agriculture, land, water and raw materials. The regional integration section looks at regional integration in the Global South as a key alternative approach of developing countries to strengthen and sustain their economic development. To learn more read about the many flourishing alternative approaches to trade across Africa, Asia and Latin America and watch our video of Southern Activists outlining their visions of trade justice.
Introduction:
Sets out some of the key issues and criticisms of current EU and global trade policy, summarises the reports and identifies key common principles that should underpin trade policies.
Click here to download the Introduction
Regional Integration
Timothy Kondo
Alternative trade policies from Latin America: A response to the EU’s free trade agenda
Enrique Daza
Agriculture
Henry Saragih and Mary Lou Malig
Land
Joseph Mbinji
Raw Materials
Alternatives on Resource Trade and Access to Information in Africa
Dr Claude Kabemba
Mining, People and Environment: The implications of the EU-India Free Trade Agreement
Chandra Bhushan and Sugandh Juneja
Transitions towards post-extractive societies in Latin America
Carlos Aguilar
Water Justice
Water Justice and Democracy: Alternatives to Commercialisation and Privatisation of Water in Asia
Mary Ann Manahan, Buenaventura B. Dargantes, and Cheryl Batistel
If you would like to download all the individual papers together please click here
Check out this short video on why we are campaigning for Alternatives to EU trade policy
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J19hwDyzyTg
What Can You Do?
To find out more about EU trade policy and how it is restricting development in Africa you can read our previous policy report – The New Resource Grab – to find out how why we are campaiging for alternatives to current EU trade policy.
For more info and how to get involved in the campaign for trade justice please click here .
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