22 November 2008
Oxfam pushes for Pacific fair trade deal
3 April 2007
By Jessica Rowe: Te Waha Nui Online
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Oxfam is calling on the New Zealand public to support a fair trade deal for our Pacific neighbours.
The organisation has organised a petition against the European Union pushing the Pacific to sign an economic partnership agreement.
Oxfam New Zealand executive director Barry Coates says unfair trade rules will make millions of lives in the Pacific “worse not better”.
Advisor from the Delegation of the European Commission to New Zealand Justin Allen says: “Under any deal some people will benefit and some people won’t.
“The agreement is a development tool not a trade deal.
“The union is not interested in taking money from the Pacific. There is such a small market in the Pacific. There is clearly not that much to be gained for the Europe economy from the Pacific market,” says Allen.
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Coates says: “It’s time to stand together and demand that the union work towards an agreement which will ensure the livelihoods of Pacific people who depend on trade.”
“Pacific trade negotiators must not be forced into signing away the jobs, traditions and rights of Pacific people,” he says.
According to the British Overseas NGOs for Development (BOND), free trade is a serious risk for poorer nations but the union has nothing to lose.
Developing countries are unlikely to get better access to the European market.
They will see their local businesses put under significant strain by competition from cheap European imports. These imports will often be subsidised and of poor quality.
Dr Klaus Schilder of World Economy, Ecology and Development (WEED) says the union’s proposals are going far beyond World Trade Organisation negotiations.
He says the proposals include removing all obstacles to free trade and making commitments in investment areas which have been long resisted by developing countries.
The future economic growth, the environment and the livelihoods of millions are at risk, he says.
The policy advisor at UK's fair trade organisation Traidcraft said if poor countries refuse to sign the agreements they risk losing critical trade preferences and possibly even aid.
Oxfam last month collected several hundred signatures at the Auckland Pasifika Festival and the World of Music and Dance festival ‘WOMAD’.
Supporter’s signatures are written on small slips of paper and then threaded with imitation flowers into a garland.
The petition garlands will eventually join other petitions that are being launched in Pacific countries.
Links:
- Economic Partnership Agreements
- Oxfam NZ
