[CTC] Noël || Can we build a just trade system?

[Arthur Stamoulis]

https://sojo.net/magazine/december-2020/can-we-build-just-trade-system

CAN WE BUILD A JUST TRADE SYSTEM?
The focus should be on people, not corporations.
BY CHLOE NOËL <https://sojo.net/biography/chloe-no-l>

IN 1994, CONGRESS passed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), establishing a template for free trade deals that was neither free nor fair. While North American trade tripled and corporations profited under NAFTA, the costs were borne by manufacturing workers across the U.S. and Mexico, smallholder corn farmers, and our environmental commonwealth. These trade consequences contributed to migration to the U.S.

The dirty secret about free trade agreements is that much of the content has little to do with trade. They serve to maximize corporate profits by pressuring countries to weaken or jettison domestic laws that serve the common good—such as public health, financial, and environmental regulations—to make room for policies that serve corporate interests and economic superpowers. Corporations and other nations can sue for perceived “unfair treatment,” which often costs taxpayers millions or billions of dollars and results in a regulatory chilling effect. With hundreds of U.S. government-approved industry trade advisers at the negotiating table—and few civil society representatives—is this any surprise?

Companies claim they need these “benefits” to secure their investments. But experience with NAFTA and subsequent free trade deals demonstrates that without specific consideration of vulnerable people and the planet, free trade policies are a hinderance, not a help, to just and sustainable development where it is needed most—including the U.S.

President Trump’s “America First” trade policies and corporate tax cuts have broken international relationships and incentivized moving hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs overseas. Nationalism that pits nations and workers against each other obfuscates the fact that people and God’s creation everywhere are harmed by corporate-rigged economic policies.

Trade deals have always had bipartisan supporters and detractors in Washington. Neither party has done much to dramatically shift away from the NAFTA model.

Scripture invites all people to have a place at God’s table. For Christians, this means creating a people- and Earth-centered economy—an “economy of inclusion,” as Pope Francis calls it. COVID-19 has created a health, hunger, and economic crisis exacerbated by trade policies that limit access to food, medicines, and jobs. How can U.S. trade policy be developed in a way that is righteous and just?

First, kick corporate interests out of policymaking and restore sovereign governments’ right to legislate for the common good. People, not corporations, should have the majority of seats at the negotiating table. Trade policies should be developed with public transparency and participation; the 2017 transparency policy adopted by the European Union is one model.

Second, strengthen local and regional economies, including supporting worker-owned co-ops and “buy local” incentives—such as the Depression-era “Buy American” law—to create more resilient and stable supply chains, communities, and planet.

Third, align trade policies with the Paris climate agreement—not with fossil fuel industry goals.

Fourth, ensure that trade agreements include the suite of international agreements related to the environment, labor protections, transparency, and human rights, with strong oversight and consequences for noncompliance. These policies should be a prerequisite for trade deals. Rather than fight regulations, investors can reduce risk by complying with them.

Lastly, secure rights for people and rules for business. The United Nations is negotiating a binding treaty and justice system on “transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights” to hold corporations accountable for environmental and human rights violations. Once completed, countries should adopt it and incorporate it into trade agreements.

It is time to turn over the tables of corporate-dominated trade policy. Regardless of who serves in the White House and Congress, we have an opportunity to rethink trade so that it really works for people and tackles the climate crisis.

 <https://sojo.net/biography/chloe-no-l>
Chloe Noël <https://sojo.net/biography/chloe-no-l>
Chloe Noël is the Faith-Economy-Ecology program coordinator at the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. 



Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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