The failure of the IMF, World Bank and WTO to represent and further the interests of the developing world, through their one-size-fits-all approach, has lead to the collapse of trade negations, widespread criticism of their effectiveness, and bitter international protest. Many countries are rejecting the neoliberal ideologies of the ‘unholy trinity’ with intensifying calls for their reform or decommissioning.
Shortly after protests in Seattle nearly shut down a round of negotiations for the World Trade Organization (WTO), a group of academics, trade negotiators and business people met in Washington to figure out a way to reduce the hostility to their trade agenda. A former Clinton administration official suggested giving the critics “another sandbox to play in,” so that they wouldn’t continue to obstruct a new WTO agreement. Specifically, he suggested that those who were concerned about labor and environmental standards could focus their attention on the International Labor Organization (ILO). From the standpoint of the assembled honchos, the ILO was an appropriate “sandbox” because it has no enforcement powers.
The best way Europeans and Americans can make reparations for their past role in the slave trade is to end unfair trade policies that keep Africans shackled in poverty, a U.S. historian said.
The new free trade agreements being signed up between rich and poor countries are proving far more damaging to the poor than anything envisaged within WTO talks, Oxfam said in a report Tuesday.
Every year, Oklahoma farmers grow lots of fresh, healthy produce - so much so that a good amount gets exported out of state. It is quite perplexing for food and health experts, then, that Oklahoma leads the nation in “food-insecure hunger”. Food security, which goes hand in hand with fighting poverty, is defined as the access to foods that ensure a healthy and active lifestyle. The situation in Oklahoma, therefore, is such that farmers are exporting healthy produce while rural food insecurity continues to contribute to hunger and poverty. This exporting of healthy foods that could otherwise be provided locally to rural households, however, is just one symptom of a much broader, distorted trade model that dominates current farm policy here and abroad - and again, with tragic consequences.
Pressure is growing for a shift in international intellectual property rules, to emphasize monopoly less and innovation more, thus helping to address the interests of the poor
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are the major cause of poverty in African countries today. Despite claims that they will reduce poverty in Africa, it is widely accepted that most of the debts, as a cause of poverty in Africa, are due to the policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
Several developing countries have sharply criticised fresh attempts by the European Union and the United States to pry open their industrial markets through a controversial Swiss formula.
