Statement by Phil Bloomer, Head of the Oxfam International Trade Campaign, on the Final Declaration of the FTAA Ministerial Meeting
20 November 2003
The FTAA may have a new vision, but it is still blind to the needs of the poor.
The final declaration simply papers over the irreconcilable difference between narrow self-interest on the one hand, and the urgent need to reduce poverty on the other.
The FTAA talks are at an impasse on substantive issues, because free trade among such unequal partners was a bad idea in the first place.
Fighting poverty and reducing the inequality among countries will require a fundamentally different approach.
At the WTO in Doha, rich countries promised to reform the rules of international trade, which are rigged against the poor. The United States and Canada must make good on that promise, instead of seeking advantage through the FTAA or elsewhere.
