In Ghana, a can of tomatoes imported from Italy costs less than a single fresh tomato, grown within walking distance of the Agra market.
It is an unfortunate reality that trade disparities like this are common throughout the developing world because the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) often prevent individual nations from imposing tariffs on subsidized foreign goods. The result is the collapse of local businesses that cannot compete with imported competitors.
Trade activist Tetteh Hormeku of Third World Network Africa spoke at Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church last night to draw attention to this burden placed on African economies and to encourage Canadian citizens to speak out against unfair trade laws.
“On the Road to Hong Kong: International Citizen Action and Trade Laws” was an evening of lectures and discussion jointly sponsored by OISE and Intra Pares, a Canadian social justice group that assists grassroots organizations in developing countries. Inter Pares spokesman Anton Kuerti spoke before Hormeku.
“We are living in a world where the deprivation gets worse and worse as years pass,” he said. He referred to the continued proliferation of nuclear weapons as an example of the developed world’s misplaced priorities. The United States government devotes time and resources to military objective to the detriment of humanitarian goals.
Kuerti asserts that American citizens and the inhabitants of other wealthy nations are often persuaded to vote against socially responsible causes.
“One of democracy’s great challenges is that the average citizen is…not educated enough on the issues to make the right decisions at the polls.”
Hormeku reiterated the importance of public engagement in government policies, providing examples of small groups of citizens persuading their parliamentary representatives to address human rights issues. He stated that public awareness of trade disparities is particularly relevant now, as the upcoming WTO summit in Hong Kong will result in decisions that affect all national economies.
Hormeku devoted the bulk of his lecture to the degree of impact trade subsidies have on African economies. If Italian tomatoes are cheaper than local varieties in Ghana, native farmers will lose their livelihood and become unable to purchase goods from other local businesses. The result is a widespread decline in economic prosperity for numerous citizens of Ghana. Local business organizations and even government representatives are often unable to impose tariffs on foreign goods because of the monetary debts that many African nations owe to developed nations.
“When the government of Ghana passed a law to protect local chicken sales, the IMF threatened to refuse to allow debt reduction.” The result was the continued importation of foreign chicken pieces, which sell at a lower cost than native poultry.
Hormeku appealed to Canadian public to pressure the government to promote fair trade policies that will protect local economies in Africa.
“It is important to understand how ordinary people can change a government’s mind.”
