global village

 (Un)fair trade

• Trade could offer poor people a chance to work themselves out of poverty.
• Current trade rules are highly unbalanced in favour of rich countries and make poor countries even poorer.
• Poor countries are being forced to open their markets to imports from rich countries, but they are restricted on what they can export, and then paid low prices for these goods.
• Campaigners are calling for trade justice instead of free trade, which could lead to poverty eradication and sustainable development.
• Fairtrade offers an alternative way of trading that pays poor farmers a fair price for their goods, but much bigger changes are needed to trade rules that will benefit all poor producers.