MAKE TRADE FAIR

'Make Trade Fair' is a campaign organized by Oxfam International to promote trade justice and fair trade among governments, institutions, and multinational corporations.

Contents

Objectives

Key events

The Big Noise

Make Trade Fair concerts

WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005

References

See also

External links

Objectives

The campaign has focused on the elimination of several trade practices:

★ Dumping, which occurs when highly subsized, surplus commodities from rich countries such as rice, cotton, corn, and sugar are sold at artificially low prices and farmers from poor countries cannot compete. This causes an uneven playing field where farmers in developing countries are unable to compete in the market with cheaper foreign produce and crops.^[1]

★ Tariffs, where developed nations enforce high taxes on imported goods, restricting the sales of products from developing nations.^[2]

★ Unbalanced labour rights for women, who often earn lower wages than their male counterparts.^[3]

★ Stringent patent issues, that drive up the price of medication, drugs, and textbooks. Thus, such essential goods are often inaccessible to developing nations.^[4]

Key events

The Big Noise

Launched in April 2002, the Big Noise is a worldwide petition that calls for governments to help end unfair trade practices. By the end of 2005, some 17.8 million signatures have been received.^[5] Desmond Tutu was the honorary 1 millionth signee to the petition in 2003. Other celebrities who have lent their names to the petition include the Dalai Lama, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and musicians Bono and Chris Martin. ^[6]
The petition was also coupled with a popular photo campaign, where celebrities were "dumped" with various crops and foodstuffs to highlight the unfair practice of dumping. Colin Firth, Thom Yorke, Jamelia, and Haile Gebrselassie were a few of the celebrities to take part in this venture.

Make Trade Fair concerts

In 2002 and 2004, special benefit concerts were held in London to promote the Make Trade Fair campaign. Proceeds from the shows went to aid Oxfam's promotional campaigns. Performers from the 2002 "Fairplay" gig include Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland from Coldplay, Noel Gallagher, and Ms. Dynamite, while the 2004 event included Michael Stipe, Razorlight, and The Thrills.^[7]

WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005

The Make Trade Fair campaign was active at the WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005, held in Hong Kong, People's Republic of China. Various demonstrations and activities were held, including the handover of some 17.8 million signatures on the Big Noise petition to WTO Director General Pascal Lamy.^[8]

References

1. Rigged Rules - Dumping
2. Rigged Rules - Market Access
3. Rigged Rules - Labour Rights
4. Rigged Rules - Patents
5. Oxfam International - Make Trade Fair
6. Make Trade Fair - Oxfam Global Petition Hits One Million Mark
7. Make Trade Fair Concert 2004
8. WTO summit photos

See also

External links

★ Make Trade Fair (official site)

★ Oxfam International

★ Oxfam America