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PrintTrade Liberalisation
Date of Adoption: November 2001Policy Serial No: POS 2.3.1
The Problem
Trade liberalisation, whilst having the potential to combat global poverty are working against the interests of the poor. However rich countries and powerful corporations have captured a disproportionate share of the benefits of liberalised trade, while many developing countries and poor men and women have been left behind or made worse off. This is because world trade rules have been developed by the rich and powerful on the basis of their narrow commercial interests.
Oxfam Australia's Principles
Oxfam Australia recognises that trade is becoming increasingly important to creating prosperity but it is concerned that current trade rules have worked against the interests of developing countries.
Fairer rules trade, not simply trade liberalisation, are needed to ensure that developing countries are able to benefit from increased trade.
Consequently, Oxfam Australia calls for:
- Wealthier countries to support the capacity of developing countries to trade through a range of policy changes in areas including aid, debt relief and the transfer of technology. Trade rules must also allow developing countries to protect particularly important sectors of their economies.
- Australia to:
- Commit to reform of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), using its leadership role in the Cairns Group.
- Advocate, through the Cairns Group and other forums, the case for extended and more lenient 'Special and Differential Treatment' regimes on tariff reductions for developing countries, based on a vulnerability index. In particular, a poor country should not have to reduce tariffs according to a fixed schedule if it is still highly vulnerable economically.
- Support research on the impact of trade liberalisation on poverty and sustainable development, including the impact on women. This research should draw on the expertise of specialised UN agencies and NGOs, and feed into the WTO Trade Policy Review Mechanism.
- Increase our commitment through the aid program to providing technical and financial assistance to support trade policy capacity-building for developing countries, to improve their negotiating capacity and participation in WTO and other trade policy for a, and to assist them to take advantage of market opportunities.