Trade justice
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Trade justice is a movement of non-governmental and private voluntary organisations that lobby for certain standards in trade that include the adherence to human rights, the universal right to economic growth and the balance of trade and justice. The Trade Justice Movement is a formal coalition of these groups. The term "trade justice" is more common in the UK, where "Fair trade" usually refers to Fairtrade labelling.
Although some see "trade justice" as having much the same meaning as "fair trade", many use the former term to focus on what they see as the injustices of the current international trade regime, in particular in the way that agricultural subsidies and tariffs in the West make it difficult for farmers in poor countries to compete. (The European Union's agricultural export subsidies are particularly egregious.) They point to the special treatment given to agriculture at the WTO, which has institutionalised these injustices, and that in the few instances where developing countries have used the complex and expensive WTO process to declare subsidies (eg US cotton subsidies) excessive, developed countries ignore these rulings, which the WTO itself does not enforce.
The term "trade justice" places less emphasis than "fair trade" on the point that even if the playing field were level, instead of tilted against developing countries, the poorest developing countries in particular would still struggle to gain from trade if forced to trade under free trade terms, because of their overwhelming lack of competitiveness. However, those calling for "trade justice" do often also defend the right of developing country governments to follow protectionist trade policies, believing these necessary to promote food security and to protect the livelihoods of agricultural producers.
See also
External links
- The Trade Justice Movement (http://www.tjm.org.uk)
- "The World Trading System is Corrupt and Unjust" (http://www.newint.org/issue374/keynote.htm), New Internationalist 374, December 2004
- Oxfam, April 2002, "Rigged Rules and Double Standards" (http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=03042002121618.htm)