Christian Aid Defends Vulnerable Countries in New World Trade Report

A new report entitled Rags to Riches to Rags published by Christian Aid in December, has raised the world's attention towards the unjust trade policy launched by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in the New Year.

The WTO will scrap the main quota system that governs the global clothing and textile trade at midnight on 31st December 2004. The more opened trade system will work under a very basic worldly law - "Survival of the fittest".

Currently, the quotas have been applied to restrict the exports from the emerging industries of South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong to the US and EU. Not only have the measures protected the domestic rag trades, but it also has allowed other poorer countries to step into the exporting breach and develop their own garment trade.

Experts told Christian Aid that once the quota is removed, global garment trade will be dominated by strong and more developed industrial players such as China. On the other hand, factories in some of the poorest developing countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Nepal, are expected to be hit the hardest. The damage is likely to spread to Africa and the Caribbean as well.

"The losers in this new trade landscape will be some of the most vulnerable workers in countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Nepal. They will be hard-pressed to cope when garment industries there lose their protection," said Andrew Pendleton, Christian Aid's Head of Trade Policy.

In fact, the sale of garments and textiles in the poorer countries is their way out of poverty and debt. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Bangladesh could lose up to a million jobs in the garment trade and other related industries.

A recent WTO study stated that 27 million workers across the world could lose their jobs.

Women may be the worst victims among others. In order to survive in poverty, many of them have no choice but are forced to turn to the sex trade after they lose their factory jobs.

Mashuda Khatun Shefali of Nari Uddug Kendra (NUK- the Centre for Women's Initiatives) told Christian Aid, "Some are forced into becoming sex workers. They have to do it because there is no other way to earn money."

"We are deeply concerned that the New Year will spell misery for huge numbers of garment worker," Pendleton added, "Changes in global trade policies should put the interests of poor people first - rather than simply aiming to liberalise markets at any cost."

"International trade must not be governed by a 'race to the bottom' that pitches one set of poor people against another," said Pendleton, "it is a tragic example of the cost of 'one size fits all' liberalisation."

Christian Aid hopes that while Western consumers do their Christmas shopping they will give some thought to the workers from poor countries that made them.

"Rich retailers especially have a real obligation to ensure they look after their workforces. They must not succumb to the lure of a quick profit by cutting and running from countries such as Bangladesh. They make large profits from the efforts of these workers, especially at Christmas, and they must live up to their social responsibilities."