Making Free Trade Fair

by Zarah Patriana · 2009-01-06 08:45:00 UTC
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The second round of voting for Change.org's Ideas for Change in America competition is underway and currently the top idea under the Fair Trade category is asking the Obama administration to make Free Trade Fair Trade. In order for reform to happen, Free Trade Agreements need to be re-negotiated where people and planet are considered before profit.

Fair Trade pioneers, Equal Exchange are making the same call, along with a large number of organizations asking President-elect Barack Obama to make the re-negotiation of NAFTA a top priority in his administration. Obama and Biden have already stated that the

[B]elieve that NAFTA and its potential were oversold to the American people. They will work with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to fix NAFTA so that it works for American workers.

Also stating that they

[W]ill use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world and stand firm against agreements like the Central American Free Trade Agreement that fail to live up to those important benchmarks.

Equal Exchange and other civil society organizations have come together and are appealing to Mr. Obama to follow up with his promises of reform.

We firmly believe that future agreements between our countries must work for the people of every country. Hence, a new model for trade that supports widely recognized international development, human rights and environmental goals is greatly needed.

Earlier in the year, these organizations came together to put forward a policy proposal called, "NAFTA Must be Renegotiated; A Proposal from North America Civil Society Networks" envisioning "new relationships between our countries that establish economic relations based on social justice within a paradigm of sustainable development.”

Now is the time to call out to the Obama Administration to show that a reform in trade policy in order to make human rights and environmental justice a top priority. Join in letting your voice be heard by voting for the idea of making Free Trade Fair Trade.

[photo: bilaterals.org]

Zarah Patriana
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