Unfair Trade Practices Cause Global Poverty

From Catholic Agency for Overseas Development

Trade: an overview

Electronics worker Ramona was sacked for giving an interview to CAFOD.
Unfair trade rules rob poor countries of an export income of £1.3 billion every day – that’s 14 times what they receive in aid.
International trade has the potential to lift millions of people out of poverty. But trade rules are stacked in favour of rich countries and multinational companies. Poor countries are getting a raw deal out of the current trading system.
Global trade rules are regulated by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The WTO promotes ‘free trade’ – by banning anything which might interfere with the free flow of goods and services. This means that WTO agreements often limit governments’ ability to intervene in trade to support development or protect the environment.
Favouring the rich. In theory, the WTO is democratic, as all members have an equal vote. In reality, poor countries are forced to make concessions in order to trade with richer countries. This means that the rules are weighted in favour of the rich.

Cheap flour flooding the market means collapsing income for maize farmers like Juan Valencia Rosada. For example, rich countries like those in the EU are lobbying hard for poor countries to open their markets, while protecting their own producers with tariffs and subsidies.
The average European cow receives $2.20 a day, whereas half the world’s population of nearly three billion people struggle to survive on less than $2 a day.